Promoting efficient use of geographic telephone numbers
- Start: 28 October 2016
- Status: Closed
- End: 09 December 2016
Review of the pilot scheme to charge communications providers for certain geographic numbers, including proposals to modify General Condition 17
Ofcom is responsible for managing the UK’s telephone numbers. This includes ensuring that sufficient and appropriate numbers are available to allocate to phone companies so that consumers have an effective choice of provider and services.
Geographic numbers (fixed-line telephone numbers that begin with ‘01’ or ‘02’) are an increasingly scarce national resource. To help address this scarcity, in April 2013 we introduced a pilot scheme to charge phone companies for numbers in the 30 geographic area codes with the fewest number blocks remaining available for allocation. Charging was introduced to ensure that numbers are used more efficiently, with the aim of delaying or avoiding the need for measures to increase the supply of numbers, which are costly and disruptive for consumers, businesses and the telecoms industry.
This consultation document is about our review of the pilot scheme and its effect on the efficient use of geographic numbers. We set out our assessment of the impact of the pilot scheme and put forward our proposals for a charging scheme for geographic numbers going forward.
Our proposals for a charging scheme, in themselves, do not affect consumers’ use of numbers or our policy on how numbers may be used.
Main documents
Responses
| Responder name | Type |
|---|---|
| BT.pdf (PDF File, 358.6 KB) | Organisation |
| Communications Consumer Panel and Advisory Committee on Older and Disabled People (ACOD).pdf (PDF File, 68.6 KB) | Organisation |
| ITSPA.pdf (PDF File, 229.0 KB) | Organisation |
| KCOM Group.pdf (PDF File, 12.4 KB) | Organisation |
| Nexbridge Communications Limited.pdf (PDF File, 28.3 KB) | Organisation |