Everyday Blog

The popularity of 03 telephone numbers continues to escalate.

Many United Kingdom organisations are using the relatively new number range that was delivered by communications regulator Ofcom in 2007, including:

- The BBC (various 03 numbers throughout the corporation)
- Pioneer (0330 123 1240)
- The Metropolitan Police (0300 123 1212)
- NHS Change4Life (0300 123 3434)
- Comic Relief (03457 910 910)
- Nikon UK (0330 123 0932)
- The British Heart Foundation (0300 330 3311)

The 03 number range is divided into 3 main segments:

-0303/0300 numbers for public bodies and charities only.
-0330/0333 numbers numbers for any business or organisation
-03 equivalent numbers for any organisation that already had an 08 number and wants to exchange it for the 03 equivalent (e.g. BBC Radio 1 recently swapped its 08700 100 100 number for 03700 100 100).

03 numbers are an attractive alternative to 08 numbers (0800 numbers, 0845 numbers etc.) because they offer exactly the same call features (call divert, welcome messages etc.) as 08 numbers, but cost people the same to call as regular landline numbers, beginning 01 and 02.

This means that organisations can have the incredible flexibility that all non-geographic numbers offer and give their callers excellent value.

Crucially, 03 numbers are also included in the free time bundles offered by all mobile phone networks, which is important when you consider that 40% of all calls made in the United Kingdom are from mobiles (Source: Ofcom 2008).

In fact, according to Ofcom, a notable 70% of people with a mobile and landline say they use their mobile to make some calls even when they are at home - with 10% never using their fixed line! The main reason for this is because they want to use their inclusive minutes.

Depending on their deal, mobile phone users can get anything between 100 and 3000 free minutes per month from the major networks (Orange, T-Mobile, O2, and Vodafone). The fact that only 14% of users go over their free allocations means that the majority of the calls they make are free.

So what does this all mean for United Kingdom businesses?
Well, if 86% of mobile contract users do not go over their inclusive minutes and around 40% of business calls are from mobiles, then an organisation which uses an 03 number would therefore get around 35% of their total calls from people who are effectively paying nothing for the call.

The removal of the call cost barrier will mean that businesses get more sales enquiries.

The major appeal of 03 numbers , combined with the inclusive time offered by network providers is making the mobile phone an increasingly good option for consumers. Many are now going for their portable hand held device (which comes complete with mp3 player, camera and video recorder) to make calls rather than the traditional ‘dog and bone’ that sits gathering dust in the hallway.