http://www.macworld.co.uk/digitallifest ... id=3253988


Finally

When I had my first Orange contract many years ago, calls to 0800 numbers were free.

Do you know why that all changed? Because it was abused. People started using "calling cards" - dialling a free phone number from their mobile and routing traffic via a third party.

Unlike a fixed line, it costs the operator money to connect an 0800 number because it's using expensive bandwidth. Unless that charge can be passed onto the 0800 provider then it must be charged to the caller.

Personally, I think the best compromise is to simply charge the same as for a cross-network call which would usually come out of the inclusive minutes.

The costs of connection are very small. Even if you used a calling card the network still gets line rental.

The cost per call on a mobile network cannot be compared to that of a fixed line.

On a fixed line, there is no contention and the line-rental pays for the line. There is zero cost for handling an 0800 call.

All the mobile networks still suffer massive bandwidth congestion, and all the providers are still encumbered with the billion pound debts they paid for that bandwidth. Your monthly rental plus call charges pays your share of that bandwidth, plus the relatively small egress costs of calling off network. Although there is no egress cost for an 0800 number, there is still the bandwidth cost.

If everyone started using 0800 calling cards, they could get PAYG phones and never pay a single penny to the networks. The networks then go bankrupt and you have no more mobile service in the UK.

This is exactly what was happening in the 1990s and it's why no operators now offer free 0800 calls on the cheaper rentals or PAYG products. Unless the 0800 model is changed to a model more like in America where the mobile operator is paid by the person receiving the call, then the only viable model is for the operators to charge an additional monthly fee on all products including PAYG to cover the 0800 costs. In effect, that means all users will be subsidising those that will inevitably abuse the system.

Limit it to contracts and have a fair use policy on free calls. That will end much of the problems that you assume will reappear.

True, but is that what's being proposed in the new law?

The other thing is that there are still free ways to get free calls such as Skype or FaceTime. So really will it be a problem?

If you use them over WiFi then it doesn't congest the expensive mobile bandwidth, so they are irrelevant.
If you use them over your mobile data, then the data usage is paid for. Even on one of the 3 unlimited data accounts, you're paying quite a lot on rental.

As I said, the problem is primarily with PAYG or very low cost low usage monthly mobile rentals being abused to make high volumes of free calls.

I'm with JJ.

Everyday 50 on Orange was my first mobile experience in 99 and I kept it for 10yrs. Free 0800 numbers were abused and like anything, there's a cost involved somewhere. For me, the main use were things like the AA and other "immediate" needs. The hilarious thing is, I can still remember the Orange commercial touting the "end of the landline". At 1p/min to landlines with 50mins a day for 50p a day, they could've done it, if everybody hadn't wanted to text, go on the internet and join other networks!!

You make valid points about wifi. Also why not have two free numbers O800 which are free from any number but cannot be used for telecoms etc, and a free number say 0505 which costs 2p per minute from mobiles but is free otherwise. That seems like a reasonable compromise.

Ofcom actually doing something.......I doubt it.

About time.