"Paul Cupis" <paul@cupis.co.uk> wrote in message
news:daudpe$a33$1@custnews.inweb.co.uk...
> Lee wrote:
>> "Ivor Jones" <ivor@despammed.invalid> wrote in message
>> news:3jfkanFppnrgU1@individual.net...
>>>Is there a difference in cost between a local and a national call these
>>>days..? Certainly (apart from non-geo numbers like 0870) in my personal
>>>experience the cost of calling any UK number is the same. The only
>>>advantage would be not to have to dial the full number but only the local
>>>portion after the area code.
>>
>> I have no idea - I do not really follow telecoms stuff. When did
>> local/national stop being different? My mother is on a regular BT
>> landline -
>> do they not charge differentially?
>
> Once upon a time there was Local, Reigonal and National. On 1st October
> 1999 the National rate call charge was reduced to that of Regional rate,
> so BT did away with Reigonal and just has Local and National.
>
> With BT, I believe that this distinction would still exist were it not
> for their agressive discount scheme which they apply to geographic
> numbers and ranges with rate g21 (such as 056 ranges). Once they apply
> their retail customer discount to this numbers, they end up being just
> day/eve/weekend calls. Local rate (LCFA/0845) and national rate
> (NCFA/0870) number ranges are not subject to this discount and appear on
> the bill as Lo-call or NationalCall calls.
>
> BT Wholesale charge based on the type of number and the distance on BTs
> network the call had to travel before it is passed onto other operators
> networks. An operator with a BT interconnect in London only would pay
> more for calls to Scotland than an operator with interconnects in London
> and Manchester, say.

OK, thanks. I am afraid my eyes glazed over near the end ;-)

So am I to understand while that a regular BT landline still incurs "Local"
or "National" rate call types [for want of a better description] there is
little difference in charges incurred [for regular geographic numbers]?

L