Premium Rate Telephone Number
Discussion
Scott - sorry didn't reply to your PM... got bogged down in stuff at work.
In a nutshell, and bearing in mind I'm not a PRS specialist (Premium Rate Services).
PRS is the catch-all term given to high-charge numbers above 10 pence per minute. Doesn't matter what you're using the number for - be it physic hotline, or gay chatline, it'll be labelled a PRS.
As a PRS, ICSTIS will be involved - they're the regulatory body. They're not terribly nice to those supplying/transiting PRS numbers and traffic or those providing whatever service is on the end of that number.
To get a PRS number, you will need to apply to ICSTIS for permission to do so first - informing them of what you are, what you'll be using the number for, and how much you'll be charging them.
Typically, ICSTIS will ask for a bond - usually £5,000 or £10,000. This bond is effectively your first couple of ICSTIS fines paid for in advance. ICSTIS will fine you for just about anything - but usually it's down to the clarity of the statement of call charges on your literature, and recorded at the start of the call. Make no mistake - ICSTIS are there to protect the consumer. They're professional busybodies, and have absolutely no other task to complete. They will watch you.
Once you're allowed to charge daft amounts for your customers to ring you, you'll then need to find a carrier who will provide you with a number that will work with the charging scheme you're after. To levy a charge at the start of the call, regardless of duration, is usually referred to as a 'call charge tariff' or 'special event number' or 'one time charge numbers'
Problem there is nobody in the Tier 1 telcos will even entertain the idea -
BT don't have anything outside of the usual 10p/25p/50p/100p numbers. ntl:Telewest's billing platform doesn't support one time charging
C&W won't talk to you unless your annual spend will be excess of £500K
The nearest you'll get from either of them is a standard PRS £1.50 per minute tariff. After that you need to dip into the murky world of the Tier 2 and Tier 3 players, and best of luck to you there.
Then there's the business of 09xx numbers - frankly nobody rings them unless they're into porn or physic type stuff. Consumer perception of them is 'don't ring ever, no matter what' - almost all company phone systems bar them as dialled numbers.
Finally, if you could get a £10 charge, you wouldn't actually see that tenner. The originating carrier will take chunk (normally BT), then pass onto the transit carrier (C&W for example), who will then pass the change onto you - minus a considerable amount of profit for the effort. Most PRS services yield less than 40% of the dialled revenue - basically expect to get 40pence for every quid the customer generated.
Personally, my recommendation is to actually go for an 0845 or 0844 number, and simply charge the customer using the traditional credit/debit card operation.
In a nutshell, and bearing in mind I'm not a PRS specialist (Premium Rate Services).
PRS is the catch-all term given to high-charge numbers above 10 pence per minute. Doesn't matter what you're using the number for - be it physic hotline, or gay chatline, it'll be labelled a PRS.
As a PRS, ICSTIS will be involved - they're the regulatory body. They're not terribly nice to those supplying/transiting PRS numbers and traffic or those providing whatever service is on the end of that number.
To get a PRS number, you will need to apply to ICSTIS for permission to do so first - informing them of what you are, what you'll be using the number for, and how much you'll be charging them.
Typically, ICSTIS will ask for a bond - usually £5,000 or £10,000. This bond is effectively your first couple of ICSTIS fines paid for in advance. ICSTIS will fine you for just about anything - but usually it's down to the clarity of the statement of call charges on your literature, and recorded at the start of the call. Make no mistake - ICSTIS are there to protect the consumer. They're professional busybodies, and have absolutely no other task to complete. They will watch you.
Once you're allowed to charge daft amounts for your customers to ring you, you'll then need to find a carrier who will provide you with a number that will work with the charging scheme you're after. To levy a charge at the start of the call, regardless of duration, is usually referred to as a 'call charge tariff' or 'special event number' or 'one time charge numbers'
Problem there is nobody in the Tier 1 telcos will even entertain the idea -
BT don't have anything outside of the usual 10p/25p/50p/100p numbers. ntl:Telewest's billing platform doesn't support one time charging
C&W won't talk to you unless your annual spend will be excess of £500K
The nearest you'll get from either of them is a standard PRS £1.50 per minute tariff. After that you need to dip into the murky world of the Tier 2 and Tier 3 players, and best of luck to you there.
Then there's the business of 09xx numbers - frankly nobody rings them unless they're into porn or physic type stuff. Consumer perception of them is 'don't ring ever, no matter what' - almost all company phone systems bar them as dialled numbers.
Finally, if you could get a £10 charge, you wouldn't actually see that tenner. The originating carrier will take chunk (normally BT), then pass onto the transit carrier (C&W for example), who will then pass the change onto you - minus a considerable amount of profit for the effort. Most PRS services yield less than 40% of the dialled revenue - basically expect to get 40pence for every quid the customer generated.
Personally, my recommendation is to actually go for an 0845 or 0844 number, and simply charge the customer using the traditional credit/debit card operation.
Edited by Dunk76 on Wednesday 7th November 22:11
Dunk76 said:
Scott - sorry didn't reply to your PM... got bogged down in stuff at work.
In a nutshell, and bearing in mind I'm not a PRS specialist (Premium Rate Services).
PRS is the catch-all term given to high-charge numbers above 10 pence per minute. Doesn't matter what you're using the number for - be it physic hotline, or gay chatline, it'll be labelled a PRS.
As a PRS, ICSTIS will be involved - they're the regulatory body. They're not terribly nice to those supplying/transiting PRS numbers and traffic or those providing whatever service is on the end of that number.
To get a PRS number, you will need to apply to ICSTIS for permission to do so first - informing them of what you are, what you'll be using the number for, and how much you'll be charging them.
Typically, ICSTIS will ask for a bond - usually £5,000 or £10,000. This bond is effectively your first couple of ICSTIS fines paid for in advance. ICSTIS will fine you for just about anything - but usually it's down to the clarity of the statement of call charges on your literature, and recorded at the start of the call. Make no mistake - ICSTIS are there to protect the consumer. They're professional busybodies, and have absolutely no other task to complete. They will watch you.
Once you're allowed to charge daft amounts for your customers to ring you, you'll then need to find a carrier who will provide you with a number that will work with the charging scheme you're after. To levy a charge at the start of the call, regardless of duration, is usually referred to as a 'call charge tariff' or 'special event number' or 'one time charge numbers'
Problem there is nobody in the Tier 1 telcos will even entertain the idea -
BT don't have anything outside of the usual 10p/25p/50p/100p numbers. ntl:Telewest's billing platform doesn't support one time charging
C&W won't talk to you unless your annual spend will be excess of £500K
The nearest you'll get from either of them is a standard PRS £1.50 per minute tariff. After that you need to dip into the murky world of the Tier 2 and Tier 3 players, and best of luck to you there.
Then there's the business of 09xx numbers - frankly nobody rings them unless they're into porn or physic type stuff. Consumer perception of them is 'don't ring ever, no matter what' - almost all company phone systems bar them as dialled numbers.
Finally, if you could get a £10 charge, you wouldn't actually see that tenner. The originating carrier will take chunk (normally BT), then pass onto the transit carrier (C&W for example), who will then pass the change onto you - minus a considerable amount of profit for the effort. Most PRS services yield less than 40% of the dialled revenue - basically expect to get 40pence for every quid the customer generated.
Personally, my recommendation is to actually go for an 0845 or 0844 number, and simply charge the customer using the traditional credit/debit card operation.
Excellent, excellent advice!!! In a nutshell, and bearing in mind I'm not a PRS specialist (Premium Rate Services).
PRS is the catch-all term given to high-charge numbers above 10 pence per minute. Doesn't matter what you're using the number for - be it physic hotline, or gay chatline, it'll be labelled a PRS.
As a PRS, ICSTIS will be involved - they're the regulatory body. They're not terribly nice to those supplying/transiting PRS numbers and traffic or those providing whatever service is on the end of that number.
To get a PRS number, you will need to apply to ICSTIS for permission to do so first - informing them of what you are, what you'll be using the number for, and how much you'll be charging them.
Typically, ICSTIS will ask for a bond - usually £5,000 or £10,000. This bond is effectively your first couple of ICSTIS fines paid for in advance. ICSTIS will fine you for just about anything - but usually it's down to the clarity of the statement of call charges on your literature, and recorded at the start of the call. Make no mistake - ICSTIS are there to protect the consumer. They're professional busybodies, and have absolutely no other task to complete. They will watch you.
Once you're allowed to charge daft amounts for your customers to ring you, you'll then need to find a carrier who will provide you with a number that will work with the charging scheme you're after. To levy a charge at the start of the call, regardless of duration, is usually referred to as a 'call charge tariff' or 'special event number' or 'one time charge numbers'
Problem there is nobody in the Tier 1 telcos will even entertain the idea -
BT don't have anything outside of the usual 10p/25p/50p/100p numbers. ntl:Telewest's billing platform doesn't support one time charging
C&W won't talk to you unless your annual spend will be excess of £500K
The nearest you'll get from either of them is a standard PRS £1.50 per minute tariff. After that you need to dip into the murky world of the Tier 2 and Tier 3 players, and best of luck to you there.
Then there's the business of 09xx numbers - frankly nobody rings them unless they're into porn or physic type stuff. Consumer perception of them is 'don't ring ever, no matter what' - almost all company phone systems bar them as dialled numbers.
Finally, if you could get a £10 charge, you wouldn't actually see that tenner. The originating carrier will take chunk (normally BT), then pass onto the transit carrier (C&W for example), who will then pass the change onto you - minus a considerable amount of profit for the effort. Most PRS services yield less than 40% of the dialled revenue - basically expect to get 40pence for every quid the customer generated.
Personally, my recommendation is to actually go for an 0845 or 0844 number, and simply charge the customer using the traditional credit/debit card operation.
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