I have started a separate thread on this topic over in Site Related but as I know not so many people visit that area of the discussion forum I thought I would bring it to everyone's attention in this thread which has a lot of members subscribed.

The thread to discuss people's reaction to the new FreePay banner on this website is here:-

www.saynoto0870.com/cgi-bin/forum/YaBB.cgi?num=1139928456

Some of you may well be interested in the debate that has just started on Ofcom's new National Telephone Numbering Plan Consultation document.

This contains proposals for a new class of 03 NGNs without revenue sharing to be charged at geographic 01/02 phone call rates.

This thread can be found here:-

www.saynoto0870.com/cgi-bin/forum/YaBB.cgi?num=1140696094

Thank you for that gdh82.

Let's just hope that they haven't backtracked on their 0870 proposals at least!

Don't forget the other consultation that Ofcom have started entitled, "Telephone Numbering - Safeguarding the future of numbers", see here.

And this was my immediate and fairly robust response:-

-----Original Message-----
Sent: 04 April 2006 20:00
To: Clive Hillier
Cc: nic.green@ofcom.org.uk; ruth.gibson@ofcom.org.uk; clive.hillier@ofcom.org.uk; sean.williams@ofcom.org.uk; gareth.davies@ocom.org.uk; geoff.brighton@ofcom.org.uk; claudio.pollack@ofcom.org.uk; matt.peacock@ofcom.org.uk; kip.meek@ofcom.org.uk; stephen.carter@ofcom.org.uk; ed.richards@ofcom.org.uk; david.currie@ofcom.org.uk; philip.graf@ofcom.org.uk; stephanie.liston@ofcom.org.uk; sara.nathan@ofcom.org.uk; ian.hargreaves@ofcom.org.uk; millie.banerjee@ofcom.org.uk; consumerpanel@ofcom.org.uk; colette.bowe@ofcomconsumerpanel.org.uk; bob.twitchin@ofcomconsumerpanel.org.uk; georgia.klein@ofcom.org.uk; david.edwards@ofcom.org.uk; steve.unger@ofcom.org.uk; andrew.heaney@ofcom.org.uk; dougal.scott@ofcom.org.uk
Subject: Yet More Delay in Publication of Statement on NTS & Failure to Co-ordinate with Ofcom's Consultation on A New National Telephone Number Plan

Dear Clive,

Unfortunately It does not surprise me one little bit to learn that publication of the Ofcom NTS statement has been delayed until "after Easter" rather than "by the end of March" since I think Ofcom would in fact be utterly insane to try to publish its NTS statement ahead of or separately from its statement on a new National Telephone Number Plan as I highlighted to Sean Williams at the recent NTNP Focus Group session at Ofcom's Headquarters, run by Sean Williams and Steve Unger. At this session I was possibly the only non telecoms industry mole at what was originally billed as being a "stakeholder workshop" although I seemed to account for a lot of the questions as none of the industry telecoms representatives seemed to care in the least whether the plan was intellectually coherent and instead were concerned only about how much money the proposed changes were going to cost them.  What a pity then that Ofcom does not apparently consider consumers to be stakeholders in spite of the provisions of Section 3 (i) of the Communications Act 2003.

Also to be blunt what Ofcom deadline on NTS has Ofcom not so far not badly slipped up and failed on?  That is why I thought Ofcom's quite deliberately misleading press release announcing its NTS Way Forward Consultation last Autumn and suggesting that 0870 numbers would start costing the same as 01/02 calls in only 12 months time from that date was so utterly cynical and deliberately misleading to a not very inquisitive bright or well informed press that covers most telecoms issues in the UK.

But coming back to the connectivity between a new National Telephone Number Plan and the ongoing future of 084/7 NTS the two things are inextricably linked, especially the launch of 03 Countrywide numbers charged at geographic rates to overcome the 0845 numbers remaining at NTS rates issue.  It is also ludicrous for Ofcom to allow 0844, 0845 and 0871 to carry on using 08 on the same prefix as Freephone numbers and now geographically priced 0870 numbers (when the new NTNP is supposed to be simplifying numbering and pricing issues) just so that you don't too badly damage the highly exploitative call centre businesses of Mr Stephen Carter's many important New Labour friends and acquaintances running some of the uk's largest commercial companies!  You do however seem quite content to force government departments, uk police forces and local councils using 0845 numbers (originally for all the right reasons when they did cost the same as a local rate call) to all obtain new 03 numbers if they are in future to avoid costing citizen consumers more than the price of a standard rate national geographic phone call.

So once again Ofcom is putting the entrenched business needs of ruthless telecoms missellers ahead of the needs of UK citizen consumers?  Also how will anyone understand the 08 prefix code containing Freephone, Chargeable Services and National Geographic Calling Rates?  As there are so many more 0870 numbers than 0871s anyone calling 0871 will inevitably still think it is a national geographic rate call.  In other words a scammer's charter pure and simple.  Once again Ofcom proves that it has been hijacked by the business needs of the telecom missellers who base their whole business around the cosy protection they enjoy from Ofcom, who perversely repeatedly claims that it is too expensive or too technically complex for people to have an announcement telling them what the price of any phone call is before it is connected.  Strange then that the Office of Fair Trading has never agreed to the same argument that it is too costly and cumbersome for a supermarket to have to display the price of a can of baked beans or a packet of cornflakes on its shelves.  It also seems strange that the North American Numbering Plan (see www.nanpa.com) has always resolutely managed to keep services paid for by the cost of the telephone call on North American Area Codes beginning with 9.  Unfortunately although in the UK we originally started off following the same 8 prefix notation for free calls and 9 prefix for chargeable services first OFTEL and then Ofcom allowed the telecoms industry to completely subvert and manipulate the uk NTNP in to the worst sort of Frankenstein like manner that appeared quite blatantly designed to both confuse and mislead telecoms consumers about the costs of the calls they were making.

Continued Below/...............

Well put, NGM, a copy should be sent to all MP's as well.
OFCOM are really a nest of vipers.

omy wrote on Apr 5^th, 2006 at 7:55am:


Or at least the 70 or 80 MPs who have signed the anti 0870 and anti BT Privacy ripoff Early Day Motions.  Unfortunately it would take a long time to write an email list for all 650 MPs as there is no general members@parliament.uk circular email list.

Ofcom's attempt to announce the outcome on 0870 before deciding what they are doing on the NTNP and Countrywide numbers is truly and utterly illogical and disgraceful but completely par for the course for such a morally bankrupt organisation who simply seem to be there to continue to sign off and allow the continuation of most existing major telecoms abuses.

Well Ofcom really did mean the week after Easter people on their 084/7 announcement and incredibly they are intent on totally prejudicing the outcome of their current Review of Numbering Consultation by deciding in advance that they will have a geographically priced class of NGNs within the 087 number range (0870) that will totally shaft their plans to structure the rest of their 084/7 number series in line with call costs.  And they really are insisting that every government department and charity and local council in the land using 0845 must introduce an 03 alternative to allow callers to have access to geographic call prices and so that Stephen Carter's chums in the 0845 dialup internet industry can go on ripping off elderly and technically uninformed customers with high call prices for as long as they possibly can.  And people calling 0844, 0845 and 0871 will now continue to be even more misled that these calls are at national rate when 0870 calls are finally charged that way.

But hang on a moment Ofcom now says the call price changes on 0870 won't happen until 18 months after the "conclusion of the wider numbering review due in summer 2006".  So there won't be any change in 0870 call prices until the start of 2008.  Not Autumn 2006 that Ofcom deliberately and cynically misled journalists into believing last Autumn. So that's only 13 years after the 0990/0345 scam began and it has only taken Ofcom 4 years of deliberate delay to sort this out while most call patterns begin to move over to Voip.  Its clear that Ofcom are a total disgrace.

Read it and weep at www.ofcom.org.uk/media/news/2006/04/nr_20060419

Its also clear that Mr Stephen Carter and his chums are totally in the pocket of the vested interests of the telecoms industry and wouldn't know a principled form of action if it ran them over.

This is yet another example of Ofcom's total lack of any joined up thinking in its approach to regulating telecoms where it attempts to bamboozle and dissuade consumers from even bothering to respond to its consultations by engaging in several hundred consultations a year that most consumers eventually run out of energy to respond to (I know I have) instead of only 3 or 4 annual consultations on a variety of themed and clearly interlinked telecoms issues.

There is clearly no overall joined up thinking at Ofcom at all other than to never do anything that would cause loss of revenue to large and powerful telcos where many former senior Ofcom employees and/or main board directors previously worked.

Sorry to suggest yet more work but for all those of you who were planning on responding to Ofcom's consultation on its revised National Telephone Number Plan I have been told by a very important source well connected with the internal workings of Ofcom that it is vital that as many of you as possible also provide a response to Ofcom's consultation that is technically closing today Wednesday 19th April (but Ofcom always accepts responses for several days after the closing date so therefore probably until say next Monday) entitled:-

Ofcom's Consumer Policy:-  See www.ofcom.org.uk/consult/condocs/ocp/

Basically this is an effort by Ofcom to give itself a jolly big pat on the back by saying that its approach so far in avoiding almost any direct control of and/or regulatory sanctions against most telcos and instead concentrating on de-regulating to promote competition (you know the sort of thing with PostOffice, TalkTalk and BT all in a bidding war to acquire more customers while actually forcing up the minimum cost of line rental for most ordinary phone customers by 50%!) has been a big success and it should carry on with more of the same.  Although they do acknowledge that they may perhaps need to be a teensy weensy bit more efficient and rapid in future in taking action against those companies who consistently and deliberately flout their regulations long term (for instance no action so far against Finarea despite more than two years of not complying with Ofcom's rules sating they must belong to an Alternate Dispute Resolution scheme).

Basically this consultation is a huge opportunity to respond telling Ofcom that you think their approach to Consumer Protection is a complete joke and has totally failed and that their rules are being flouted right, left and centre and that in many cartel and monopoly type areas like phone line rental prices are actually being driven up and not down.  You could also highlight how their non interventionist and market driven approach has totally failed to provide cheaper prices for 084/7 NTS phone calls to date.

In short don't write pages but just a few paragraphs telling Ofcom their whole approach to Consumer Protection is an utter joke that consumers are not getting a better deal as a result of their actions and that due to the composition of their Board and their staff they are widely perceived as being in bed with the telecoms industry.

Don't use their horrid online form with the numerous questions designed to put you off responding and possibly not available after 5pm today and instead send your response to:-  claudio.pollack@ofcom.org.uk and conpolconsult@ofcom.org.uk preferably by the end of this coming weekend.  Based on their previous acceptance of responses up to a week late and this being the Easter week etc I feel sure that they will have to accept and publish any late submissions made.

It is important that as many as possible of us respond to this consultation as I am reliably informed that if we do not tell Ofcom that their approach is wrong that they will just carry on with their current appalling approach of failing to intervene to stop the operation of cartels and/or deliberately misleading and hype based marketing by many of the largest uk telecoms companies such as BT and TalkTalk. 

This is important so please respond today but a few paragraphs on a Page or so of A4 will do. Please don't use their questionnaire which is designed to force you to respond on Ofcom's terms and anyhow may not be available after today. 

Please tell Ofcom their current approach to considering the best interests of the consumer is abysmal and completely wide of the mark.