Key Facts about 0333 & 0300 numbers.

03 prefixed numbers were introduced by Ofcom in March 2007 as a way of appeasing certain factions of the general public whose perception it was that 08 numbers were charged at a premium.
The intention is to provide a clear understanding of what callers will pay for calling organisations. The
03 pre-fix will still be non-geographic, but the charging structure will exactly reflect geographic number charges (i.e. 01 & 02).

03 number ranges explained

0300 & 0303 Numbers – Public Bodies and Not for profit organisations (eligibility required).
0330 & 0333 Numbers – No eligibility required so all companies and organisations can use these numbers.

Following a lengthy consultation process with the public, corporations and selected public sector bodies from 2004 onwards, it was concluded that greater transparency was required on calls made to Non-Geographic numbers of all types and from all locations. This is why Ofcom announced the use of 03 Numbers which could be used from any device including home and office landlines, mobile phones and payphones.

An Ofcom spokesman confirmed this: "Consumers will be able to dial 03 numbers with confidence about the cost of their call. We expect public services and many others to view
03 Numbers as a real alternative to higher cost 08 numbers." Organisations who have already adopted these numbers in favour of 08 ranges include, but are not limited to: A main advantage of using 03 UK Wide numbers rather than geographic numbers is that enhanced services can be provided such as; call statistics, routing plans, advanced call plans and disaster recovery solutions. 03 numbers can also be given out as the number that identifies your call (CLI) to the number that you have dialled (this product is called 'presentation number' and can be supplied by your outbound call supplier.

Many consumers have been unhappy that some organisations who use 0870 and 0871 numbers receive a share of what the consumer pays to make a call. 03 numbers are therefore likely to be perceived as being more ethical and customer friendly. The new 03 number range is split into 3 different groups aimed at specific types of organisations, businesses or individuals: 0300 and 0303 numbers are exclusively available to the public sector (including organisations with a .gov.uk or .nhs.uk website) and not-for profit organisations such as registered charities. 0330 and 0333 numbers are available for any organisation or individual that wishes to use them. Migration numbers 0344, 0345, 0370 and 0371 -this sub range of 03 numbers has been made available to those who wish to migrate their existing 0844, 0845, 0870 or 0871 numbers to the new 03 UK-wide numbers range. For example, a company with 0845 500 5000 will be entitled to migrate to the equivalent 0345 500 5000 UK Wide or 03 numbers are a new, non-geographic range offering all of the features and functionality of non geographic numbers, but with the positive marketing image and customer service benefits of geographic numbers.