New rules to combat high call costs and scams

02/10/2018

New rules to combat high call costs and scams Add to Your Pages

01 October 2018

Phone users will be protected from high charges for calling 070' numbers which are often mistaken for mobiles, but cost much more to call.

Ofcom has decided to cap the wholesale cost of connecting 070 calls, to help protect callers from fraud and unexpected call costs.

070 numbers are designed to be used as a follow me' service, where calls are diverted from one number to another, so the person being called can keep their own number private. For example, classified adverts often use these numbers instead of someone's private number. Small businesses and sole traders also use them to make it easy to manage calls.

But 070 numbers are often mistaken for mobile numbers (which always begin with 07'), even though they are more expensive to call. Phone providers currently charge between 45p and �1.10 per minute for calls to 070 numbers.[1] This can result in bill shock' for consumers, who may be unaware of the cost of the call. There were 2.6 million calls to 070 numbers last year.

Ofcom is concerned that these numbers have sometimes been used to defraud people. We have uncovered evidence of scams, such as missed calls and fake job adverts, that take advantage of consumers' lack of awareness of these high prices. An estimated minimum of 20% of 070 calls involve some form of fraudulent activity.

To address this, we are imposing new rules[2] to cap the wholesale cost of calling 070 numbers. This is the price that any company controlling an 070 number can charge the caller's phone company for connecting the call. At the moment, this can be as much as 39p per minute.

The new 070 wholesale price cap will be aligned with the existing cap set by Ofcom for calls to mobile numbers currently around 0.5 pence per minute.[3] This will remove the incentive for scams by significantly cutting the revenue available from using these numbers.

This move should also clear the way for phone companies to include 070 numbers in free minute allowances, as they currently do for calls to mobiles.

Jonathan Oxley, Ofcom's Competition Group Director, said: Millions of calls are made to 070 numbers, but many people aren't aware of the high costs of calling them. This can lead to people receiving much higher bills than expected.

So we're slashing the wholesale cost of connecting 070 numbers. There's no reason why phone companies shouldn't pass this saving on to their customers as soon as possible.

Before the new price cap is introduced, providers who offer 070 number services may need to change the way they run their businesses, to comply with the new rules. This may include changing their billing systems and contacting their customers, or even moving to a different number range. So there will be a 12-month implementation period to make these changes before the new price cap comes into effect.

If any companies do move to other number ranges, it will be to ranges that our research suggests are more familiar to consumers, and people would have a better idea of the likely cost of calling them.

ENDS

NOTES TO EDITORS

Current maximum retail call prices for 070 in pence per minute (including VAT):

On 15 August, we published a draft statement of our decision and notified it to the European Commission for their review. The Commission had no comments. Our final decision therefore remains unchanged from that published in our draft statement in August.

Wholesale mobile charges in the UK have decreased significantly over recent years. In 1998, they were more than 13 pence per minute (ppm) on average. Following Ofcom intervention, these rates have been progressively decreasing, dropping to around 0.5ppm today which reflects the estimated cost of connecting a call using today's technology. See graph below:

Add to Your Pages

LINK:	https://www.ofcom.org.uk/__search/s/redirect?collection=web&url=https:...
	See more stories from ofcom

Most recent headlines

05/01/2027

Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be demoed at CES 2026

Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...

01/06/2026

Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026

January 6 2026, 05:30 (PST) Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026 Throughout the week, Dolby brings to life the latest innovatio...

02/05/2026

Dalet Flex LTS Delivers Smarter Search, Faster Editing, and an AI-Ready Foundation for Modern Media

Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...

01/05/2026

NBCUniversal's Peacock to Be First Streamer to Integrate Dolby's Full Suite of Premium Picture and Sound Innovations

January 5 2026, 18:30 (PST) NBCUniversal's Peacock to Be First Streamer to ...

01/04/2026

DOLBY AND DOUYIN EMPOWER THE NEXT GENERATON OF CREATORS WITH DOLBY VISION

January 4 2026, 18:00 (PST) DOLBY AND DOUYIN EMPOWER THE NEXT GENERATON OF CREATORS WITH DOLBY VISION Douyin Users Can Now Create And Share Videos With Stun...

19/03/2026

How Chris Bolte Builds the Sound of PlayStation Games

How Chris Bolte Builds the Sound of PlayStation Games Chris Bolte '16 is a technical sound designer at Sucker Punch Productions, where he helps create the...

18/03/2026

Net Insight Names Larissa GrnerMeeus CPO

Newly named chief product officer (CPO), Larissa G rner Meeus will return to Net Insight on May 4. Larissa G rner Meeus will become CPO of Net Insight on May 4...

18/03/2026

SVG Europe's The Football Summit 2026: Select Sessions Now Available to Watch on SVG PLAY

SVG Europe's The Football Summit 2026 explored how the sports broadcasting i...

18/03/2026

SVG's SportsTech@NABShow Blog Goes Live as Countdown to Vegas Heats Up

The 2026 NAB Show kicks off one month from today and SVG is once again set to cover the show from every angle. SVG's SportsTech@NAB Show Blog is now live - ...

18/03/2026

The Premiere of Dead Lover Showcases Grave Robbing and Sex With a Giant Finger

(L-R) The cast and crew of Dead Lover at The Ray Theater for its premiere at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival. (Photo by Robin Marshall/Shutterstock for Sundan...

18/03/2026

Music Row Piano from Wiltone Productions

Yamaha C7 captured in Nashville Wiltone Productions have announced the release of Music Row Piano, a deeply sampled Yamaha C7 piano library that's been ...

18/03/2026

Techivation introduce T-Warmer Mk2

Bass-enhancement plug-in upgraded Along with a steady stream of new releases, Techivation have recently been revisiting some of the older plug-ins in their ...

18/03/2026

Tonal Balance Control 3 from iZotope

Mix-reference plug-in overhauled iZotope's powerful mix-referencing plug-in has just reached its third major version, and now boasts a new capture proce...

18/03/2026

Toontrack Transistor Organ EKX

Latest EZKeys 2 expansion arrives Toontrack's staggering collection of EZKeys 2 expansions has grown once again, and the latest instalment delivers a on...

18/03/2026

Jess Ho explores the politics of food in new SBS Audio podcast For The Culture

Jess Ho explores the politics of food in new SBS Audio podcast For The Culture 18 March, 2026 Media releases New SBS Audio podcast For The Culture, hosted ...

18/03/2026

Future-ready broadcasts with ATSC 3.0 and enhanced services from Rohde & Schwarz at NAB 2026

Future-ready broadcasts with ATSC 3.0 and enhanced services from Rohde & Schwarz...

18/03/2026

LCTWS 2026

London Calling - When The Industry Convened to Help Streaming Find its MoJo In this blog, Laura Rognoni reflects on key discussions from the Connected TV World...

18/03/2026

SMPTE Unveils 2026 NAB Show Educational Presentations

SMPTE Unveils 2026 NAB Show Educational Presentations Brie Clayton March 18, 2026 0 Comments SMPTE , the home of media professionals, technologists, a...

18/03/2026

Auditel Ad Campaign Shot on Blackmagic PYXIS 12K

Auditel Ad Campaign Shot on Blackmagic PYXIS 12K Brie Clayton March 18, 2026 0 Comments LED wall virtual production blends 12K open gate acquisition w...

18/03/2026