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Major mobile phone operators went through a period of charging callers to dial most freephone numbers from around 2005 onwards - but this practice largely ceased on 1 July 2015 as 0800 and 0808 numbers became universally free to call from mobiles and landlines due to changes in Ofcom legislation.
In the Netherlands, the prefix "0800" is used for toll-free numbers. Calling 0800-numbers from fixed and mobile phones is free by law. UIFN's "00800" are generally free from fixed lines and charged for the airtime from mobile phones. UIFN access is not enforced by law, causing certain phone providers not to honor the standard.
0800 xxx xxx [notes 3] Special Services – No charge to Customer a.k.a. "Freephone" Free to call from landline, and was up to 40p per minute from mobile, until July 2015 when calls to 080 numbers from mobiles became free. Calls to certain charity and similar services were always free from most mobiles.
United Kingdom numbers in the 0800 range (BT Freefone) first became portable in June 1997. [2] Previously, rival carriers used differing area codes, 0800 for BT Freefone and 0500 for Cable & Wireless Freecall numbers. Germany, Netherlands, Sweden and Belgium also introduced portability schemes in the late 1990s.
0800 was Tongue (TO0) – numbers were transferred to 0847 (ELNS) [notes 14] 0800 later used for BT Freefone numbers - usage of BT 9-digit 0800 numbers continued after the Big Number Change; all new 0800 allocations have 10 digits and multiple operators now issue 0800 numbers. 01801 — unused
The 1 July changes also saw ‘freephone numbers’ 0800 and 0808 become free to call from both mobiles and landlines. 0500 numbers remained chargeable as previously from mobiles (free from landlines, also as previously), but these numbers were migrated to a new 0808 5 number range in June 2017, and are free from mobiles.
Before the UK Calling changes, calls to ‘Freephone’ numbers were generally free when called from a landline, however mobile users were usually charged for calling them. The 1 July legislation made all calls to 0800 and 0808 numbers free for consumers to dial from mobile phones, just as they are from landlines. [7]
The 0800 (BT Freefone) code has remained, but no new nine-digit numbers have been allocated since 1997. Instead, all 0800 numbers issued since that time have ten digits after the leading 0 or +44. Premium rate