subject: 03 Numbers A Clear Winner Or A Confusing Alternative? [print this page] 03 Numbers A Clear Winner Or A Confusing Alternative?
Ofcom, the communications regulators of the UK, mentioned in their sixth annual Communications Market Report that 44.5% of all calls in the UK were made from mobile phones. Mobile phone usage also shows an increasing trend at the rate of 4% a year. If this continues, the number of calls made from mobile phones will overtake calls made from landlines by the year 2010. Mobile phones have become an integral part of day to day life.
One reason why mobile phones are so popular could be the free minutes that come bundled with the tariff plan. Rather than use the landline to make calls for which they have to pay, people prefer to use the mobile phone free minutes. Most people think that even those calls to 0800 numbers, 0844 numbers, 0845 numbers or 0871 numbers are free to make if the free minutes of the mobile phone are used. So people who call 0800 numbers frequently might find their mobile phone bill on the higher side, because the mobile network operator charges for those calls. Free minutes from mobile phones can be used only for calls made to the regular landline numbers starting with 01 and 02 and also the 03 numbers.
For businesses whose customers regularly call from their mobile phones, 03 numbers are a much better alternative than the 0800 number range. The very idea of having an 0800 number is to bear the cost of customer calls, if mobile network operators charge customers for 0800 calls, that purpose is defeated. So a logical and sensible alternative is for the organisation to opt for an 03 number where the customers will not be charged anything even if he makes the call from his mobile phone.
03 numbers are like the normal non-geographic numbers that smart companies use to handle their inbound calls. 03 numbers can be overlaid on existing telephone numbers and no additional equipment is needed for them to operate. All call management features that come as part of 08 numbers is also available with the 03 number range.
Many organisations are now choosing 03 numbers to handle their incoming calls because of the convenience it offers their customers, especially those who call them regularly from mobile phones. Calls made within the bundled free minutes are not charged at all. Once the free minutes are exhausted, customers only pay the same rate as they do for a normal landline call. This transparency in pricing encourages them to call 03 numbers.
Businesses who have a customer base with high mobile usage may seriously want to consider switching to an 03 number.
To know more about freephone numbers, premium rate numbers and 03 numbers, visit Numberstore website.
