tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3993498847203183398.post8775832752776575484..comments2024-03-28T09:19:27.451+00:00Comments on RevK<sup>®</sup>'s ramblings: OFCOM destroying competitionRevKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12369263214193333422noreply@blogger.comBlogger26125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3993498847203183398.post-8752530331212514842013-05-09T16:31:22.548+01:002013-05-09T16:31:22.548+01:00I'm quite happy with the reduced termination p...I'm quite happy with the reduced termination payments - yes, the loss of that revenue stream would force terminating operators to recover their costs another way, but I doubt this would mean charging customers for the incoming calls - perhaps a small per-number fee for the termination facility.<br /><br />The number block mess, though - yes, Ofcom should have either introduced much smaller allocations or some sort of 'small operator' arrangement (for example, assign one block per area code as "subdivided" and pre-port numbers within that block individually as needed). Perhaps it's not too late to implement this before the full rollout of number charges beyond the 30 trial areas?jas88https://www.blogger.com/profile/05563592458314214904noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3993498847203183398.post-30711887121575584872013-05-08T20:58:01.878+01:002013-05-08T20:58:01.878+01:00Ah, ha!
YOU re-sell the 10 or 100 number blocks t...Ah, ha!<br /><br />YOU re-sell the 10 or 100 number blocks to the small telcos<br /><br />1. Write web based system<br />2. ProfitSimonFhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03711861360301638111noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3993498847203183398.post-36362328249540069412013-05-08T20:15:16.650+01:002013-05-08T20:15:16.650+01:00Yep. Small blocks is such an obvious fix for this ...Yep. Small blocks is such an obvious fix for this - isn't it??<br /><br />And is it me or are ofcom really hard to complain to? I was thinking of writing to them to express my concerns about the potential of loosing my number and asking for them to comment but I couldn't see an email. Only a snail mail address to write to if I have contract issues. <br /><br />On a side note where can I find the VoIP contract?David Abbishawhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17656602956866538037noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3993498847203183398.post-14864996283743594622013-05-08T19:42:54.884+01:002013-05-08T19:42:54.884+01:00I can sort of see OFCOM wanting to stop companys (...I can sort of see OFCOM wanting to stop companys (large telco's) squatting on large blocks which are unusued.<br /><br />Adding 10p a year to all phone contracts to the consumer sort of makes sense (assuming the above is a real problem), but and it a big but, it isn't 10p - it is 10p*(Block_size*Pc_Unused/100) . <br /><br />Which again IMHO wouldn't be much of a problem if blocks as small as 10 could be easily and quickly allocated (perhaps by some sort of web provisioning). Then AA and similar small telcos would only buy small blocks as a when they needed them.<br /><br />But knowing our civil service getting block allocations isn't that easy is it?Rogerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16832778902341816748noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3993498847203183398.post-32766168855144633112013-05-08T17:02:11.750+01:002013-05-08T17:02:11.750+01:00The 1,000 numbers blocks are for area codes, and (...The 1,000 numbers blocks are for area codes, and (at present) can't be split to smaller blocks. We'd be happy to give 900 numbers in a 1,000 block back if we only have a few customers and they are in the same 100 number block, but OFCOM won't do it. Efficient us would not allow handing 1,000 number blocks back as we have customers in every area code.RevKhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12369263214193333422noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3993498847203183398.post-78426197144408226802013-05-08T16:50:42.649+01:002013-05-08T16:50:42.649+01:00Presumably you use these number blocks efficiently...Presumably you use these number blocks efficiently or could give some 1000 parts back.Somersethttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01709436313316655430noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3993498847203183398.post-61796285054152610492013-05-08T16:02:08.623+01:002013-05-08T16:02:08.623+01:00Err, 10p / number / per year. So a block of 1,000 ...Err, 10p / number / per year. So a block of 1,000 numbers is £100 per year, and 650 blocks (all of UK) is £65,000 per year. We have blocks in every area, many of which are 10,000 number blocks so at present, if they extend this to all geographic, we are talking a lot more than £65,000 a year.RevKhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12369263214193333422noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3993498847203183398.post-35887810754880627222013-05-08T15:59:14.731+01:002013-05-08T15:59:14.731+01:00OFCOM charge 0.10p / number/year so nowhere close ...OFCOM charge 0.10p / number/year so nowhere close to adding £65 to you bill.<br />Brexit factshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09499046210014193575noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3993498847203183398.post-84141566233473601952013-05-08T15:55:39.508+01:002013-05-08T15:55:39.508+01:00OFCOM charge 0.10p / number/year so nowhere close ...OFCOM charge 0.10p / number/year so nowhere close to adding £65 to you bill.<br />Brexit factshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09499046210014193575noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3993498847203183398.post-44578683976252308862013-05-08T15:45:21.286+01:002013-05-08T15:45:21.286+01:00They are considering blocks of 100 numbers and Ofc...They are considering blocks of 100 numbers and Ofcom have an email list any proper organisation would subscribe to.Somersethttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01709436313316655430noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3993498847203183398.post-7972831364495710252013-05-08T15:16:46.914+01:002013-05-08T15:16:46.914+01:00re charging. Do anyone have any idea what calling...re charging. Do anyone have any idea what calling an 0844 number costs, and how to find out?Somersethttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01709436313316655430noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3993498847203183398.post-28119730586628262762013-05-08T15:12:48.013+01:002013-05-08T15:12:48.013+01:00Oh, and yes, several larger players have been beat...Oh, and yes, several larger players have been beating up OFCOM on this, and I left them too it. I am really surprised they did not contact affected telcos directly in advance though, rather than relying on publication on their web site.RevKhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12369263214193333422noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3993498847203183398.post-2392142319877480802013-05-08T15:11:59.250+01:002013-05-08T15:11:59.250+01:00Yeh, odd. I said £65,000 for blocks of 1,000 numbe...Yeh, odd. I said £65,000 for blocks of 1,000 numbers in all areas (i.e. 650,000 numbers).RevKhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12369263214193333422noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3993498847203183398.post-70205567103339997462013-05-08T15:07:00.143+01:002013-05-08T15:07:00.143+01:00The consultation was in March last year, did no on...The consultation was in March last year, did no one notice?<br /><br />Where does Aled get £65/year from?Somersethttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01709436313316655430noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3993498847203183398.post-18325136819124578322013-05-08T13:36:14.755+01:002013-05-08T13:36:14.755+01:00I've always used a different outbound provider...I've always used a different outbound provider than the 3 different inbound ones I have. These changes worry me.<br /><br />How about AAISP start doing what BT Retail do "You need to make at least 10 calls per months to avoid a £2 monthly charge" ;) ?1https://www.blogger.com/profile/04266030296611845502noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3993498847203183398.post-44675093767891213852013-05-08T12:27:26.393+01:002013-05-08T12:27:26.393+01:00Can an open numbering plan be prefix-free (or does...Can an open numbering plan be prefix-free (or does it even need to be)? I'm guessing they don't need to be, since this doesn't really help you know when the number is complete unless you [*] know every single prefix, at which point you might as well know every single number anyway.<br /><br />[*] 'You' being anybody who needs to decide if a number being delivered digit-by-digit is a complete number.<br /><br />Even if there is no 'real' value to shorter numbers, I can see there being perceived value. "Oh look, your number is longer than ours. You must have moved here recently. We've been here for 20 years."met24https://www.blogger.com/profile/08096330475699615365noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3993498847203183398.post-11257631168037063942013-05-08T12:02:35.408+01:002013-05-08T12:02:35.408+01:00This could be interesting (in a bad way). We porte...This could be interesting (in a bad way). We ported a 10 number DDI range to you from BT Retail, what happens to that under this scheme?David Cookhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12787789484249396560noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3993498847203183398.post-53484690585041146442013-05-08T12:01:24.804+01:002013-05-08T12:01:24.804+01:00This comment has been removed by the author.David Cookhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12787789484249396560noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3993498847203183398.post-42816173844580179662013-05-08T11:52:08.791+01:002013-05-08T11:52:08.791+01:00Having read these two last blog posts, I have to s...Having read these two last blog posts, I have to say I'm concerned at potentially loosing my phone number, one of the reasons for porting it to AAISP was to make it portable if I ever wanted to physically move.<br /><br />Now reading this it appears that I couldn't even port it elsewhere if the owner of the block it belongs to wasn't willing to pay for it and returned the block to Ofcom.<br /><br />Surely we as phone number holders have some rights, most companies spend a great deal of money in advertising, van sign writing, letter head, business cards and of course the customer base you've already built up who keep your number in their contacts. <br /><br />So I've looked into what Ofcom have to say about it, and their advice is clear - "So if you’re staying at the same address and your number is active, your current provider must allow it to be transferred to a new phone company." - from http://ask.ofcom.org.uk/help/telephone/phonossitch1<br /><br />So how can Ofcom force you to return a block and cut off numbers if their own advice is that you must allow the number to be transferred? It seems like Ofcom doesn't know what they are doing.<br /><br />So why don't you test them, I'm sure you have a lot of numbers spare, could you not allocate a single number form a block, transfer it to another provider and then return the unused block.<br /><br />If the number then gets cut off raise a complaint with Ofcom and force the issue with complaints, now who do you report Ofcom to if you unhappy with their service I wonder?<br /><br />If they really are concerned about number allocation abuse they should allow a block of a single number to be allocated, and as you say fine the companies that won't upgrade old hardware to support it.David Abbishawhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17656602956866538037noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3993498847203183398.post-58864962417602471472013-05-08T11:32:02.363+01:002013-05-08T11:32:02.363+01:00Is there any way for customers to feed into the co...Is there any way for customers to feed into the consultation process? I am sure that if there were some good examples of how this might affect customers / end users, some of the consumer organisations might be interested in getting involved in some lobbying. If costs to providers go up then at some point end users will pay, even those not directly affected.Juleshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08998423775866751493noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3993498847203183398.post-67692252502356299302013-05-08T11:31:04.595+01:002013-05-08T11:31:04.595+01:00Scary, you are tip-toeing up to asking OFCOM to en...Scary, you are tip-toeing up to asking OFCOM to enable "overdialling" within the UK ISDN numbering scheme. This exists in Germany (and Australia I believe), and it makes dial plan administration.. Interesting.<br /><br />Far better that they leave it well alone, but if they can't keep their mitts off, perhaps an industry association of "small telcos" is called for, pool numbering, and run an API between the group as a whole?Tonyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12228893118979415851noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3993498847203183398.post-50928633437171717952013-05-08T11:30:12.082+01:002013-05-08T11:30:12.082+01:00Is there any way for customers to feed into the co...Is there any way for customers to feed into the consultation process? I am sure that if there were some good examples of how this might affect customers / end users, some of the consumer organisations might be interested in getting involved in some lobbying. If costs to providers go up then at some point end users will pay, even those not directly affected.Juleshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08998423775866751493noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3993498847203183398.post-11131971949395310952013-05-08T11:08:46.128+01:002013-05-08T11:08:46.128+01:00Are OFCOM seriously considering a proposal which w...Are OFCOM seriously considering a proposal which would add £65 a year to everyone's phone bill (fixed or mobile) just for having a unique telephone number?Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08389940653760313127noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3993498847203183398.post-82867310161227683302013-05-08T10:41:45.309+01:002013-05-08T10:41:45.309+01:00Or how about just make the telecoms infrastructure...Or how about just make the telecoms infrastructure nationalised - all the physical hardware, DSLAMs (i.e. BT Openreach and BT Operate) and all telephone numbers are owned by "National Telecom Grid". Approved providers (registered under Ofcom), when they want a number just apply "give us a continuous block of X numbers under STD xxx". These are then allocated (and billed) to the provider.<br /><br />Oh wait - that'll be an ideal world.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13423746165677757496noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3993498847203183398.post-22043646744689279182013-05-08T08:13:13.922+01:002013-05-08T08:13:13.922+01:00Increasing number length is tricky, but it is a lo...Increasing number length is tricky, but it is a long standing way of doing it and has happened since I can remember as a child having our local number change from 742 to 840742. It is not the best solution I am sure, but it shows that numbers are not at all like radio spectrum. I made a few other suggestions too :-)RevKhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12369263214193333422noreply@blogger.com