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Don’t forget about Your Companies Disaster Recovery plan (18/09/2009)
Does your business have a plan to put into action if an unexpected event happens be this at your work, in the surrounding area or worldwide that could affect the way that your business is run? A disaster such as a flood, fire, virus attack, or even just a contractor digging through a cable outside your office can close your business for days and cause you to lose customers and competitive ground. Without a way to recover quickly, many businesses just don't survive.
Every business should have a comprehensive disaster recovery plan. Unfortunately, because the idea of developing one can seem time-consuming and tedious, many entrepreneurs choose to go without one. Although it’s always best to have a complete plan, it’s better to have a few crucial pieces than nothing at all. So even if you can’t do everything, do something.
In the event that you and your colleagues aren’t able to get into the office to start the working day what do you do? What about if an event happens during the day and you are forced to leave your office in a hurry, allowing you no time to divert the phones before you leave?
The last thing people think about is how to route calls to another destination without needing to be in the office to divert the phones. However one of the most important things to perform in such an event is the re-routing of your business phones to another destination, ensuring no incoming calls are missed and your customers do not have any reason to think that your business is not running as usual.
With a disaster recovery plan for your business you can change your office phone lines to route to a destination of your choice in one quick, secure call. If you cannot enter your office, you can call one number to have your business telephone number instantly re-directed to another of your choosing without any hassle or worry.
If the disaster means that you are able to access a computer with internet access then you are able to login to a web-based portal where you can change the number to your preferred destination without the need for any 3rd party intervention or telephone calls.
Ensuring that your business phone lines are looked after by a trusted telecoms company is step one in guaranteeing that you have no business down-time when a disaster occurs. Choosing a telecoms company that has a dedicated disaster recovery plan is essential, giving you assurance that in times of crisis you are not placed on hold with other callers but get through to a dedicated operator straight away who is ready to change the destination of your calls immediately.
So what do you need to do now? Call your current telecoms company and find out what disaster recovery service they have in place for your business. If they do not have anything in place then move providers, your business could close for days and cause you to lose clients. You need to ensure that your telecom provider cares as much for the welfare of your business as you do.
Customer-Friendly 03 Business Phone Numbers Increase Customer Base (02/09/2009)
The launch of 03 numbers by Ofcom, specifically designed for businesses that wish to have all the dynamic calling features included with 08 numbers but also want to reward their customers, has arrived and is proving to be a highly popular choice for small and medium sized businesses.
0333 and 0330 numbers cost the same as calling a geographic landline number (01 or 02 numbers). The 03 numbers are also included in major landline and mobile networks inclusive minute packages, meaning that your callers won’t have to pay for calling your company; even your colleagues can call the main office number on their business mobiles and not be charged if their tariff has inclusive minutes.
0330 and 0333 numbers are looking likely to become the most popular non-geographic number on the market, a position which has previously been held by 0845 numbers.
Please see below for the huge benefits of using 03 numbers:
1. Make your business National in an instant. By becoming geographically anonymous, your potential customer base has suddenly grown and you can seem like you are based in London when in fact you are based in Llandudno.
2. 03 numbers ensure that you have the call handling capabilities you deserve. They all have the ability to incorporate every feature of our intelligent call features, from hunt groups, IVRs, call whisper, fax to email and voicemail to email as well as on-network call queuing and recording (so you have no need for any expensive in-house PBX equipment).
3. Callers can call any 03 number and feel reassured that it the charge forms part of their inclusive minutes package from all major mobile and landline operators and otherwise are charged at the same rate as you would be for calling a standard geographic landline.
4. You can route your 03 number to your mobile phone so you never have to miss a call. You can also route internationally if you are based abroad so you can gain a UK presence in minutes.
5. Incorporate a disaster recovery plan so you can log-on or dial in and change the number routing in an instant by pressing a number on your keypad, ensuring that your business maintains its professionalism in an unexpected crisis.
03 numbers are the way forward in terms of increasing your client base and driving more business to your organisation without isolating your callers through fear of calling costs.
0870 Charges to Businesses (26/08/2009)
0870 Ofcom regulations: what, why and when?
Companies with an 0870 helpline will no longer receive a cut of revenues generated from customer calls. Under new Ofcom rules, effective from 1 August 2009, revenue sharing for 0870 numbers is now illegal.
In addition, companies will have to inform customers exactly how much their 0870 number costs to dial. Ofcom set up the ban in a bid to bring the price of 0870 calls down to the same rate as geographic numbers.
Ofcom Tackles Barriers to Communications Services (18/05/2009)
Ofcom has set out five priorities to deal with issues preventing widespread access to communications services.
• Emergency roaming for 999 calls – Ofcom is working closely with mobile network operators and the emergency services to develop a service where emergency calls automatically roam onto an available network if there is no coverage from a customer’s own mobile service. If trials are successful, we expect this service to be in place by the end of the year.
• Broadband availability and take up – Ofcom will conduct further research into reasons why some people have not taken up broadband – whether through choice or affordability. We are also working to help Government develop its proposals for a Universal Service Commitment for broadband by 2012.
• Sustaining universal access to voice telephony - Ofcom will conduct a review of the existing Universal Service Obligation (USO), which ensures that all consumers have access to a basic set of telephony services at an affordable price. The review will consider the costs and benefi ts associated with obligations under the USO and the case for alternative funding to ensure that the USO is sustainable in the future.
• Access for disabled consumers – Ofcom is firmly committed to ensuring that disabled people can access communications services on an equivalent basis to others. We will include a review of the existing text relay service which enables hearing and speech impaired people to use the telephone and a study of the new technology which assists communication for such people.
• Media Literacy – As outlined in the Government’s Digital Britain report, Ofcom will be leading the work on developing a National Media Literacy Plan as well as assessing its current duties in relation to media literacy. The Access and Inclusion consultation can be found here:
http://www.ofcom.org.uk/consult/condocs/access/ and closes on 3rd June 2009.
Ofcom Allocate Dedicated 0300 Number to Public Sector Organisations (19/03/2009)
Ofcom has designated the 0300 range of telephone numbers in the National Telephone Numbering Plan for allocation to communications providers on the basis that those numbers are used by public sector bodies and not-for-profit bodies such as registered charities.
Ofcom will publish this document on its website, updating it as necessary, to provide guidance on how individual bodies will be considered as eligible to use 0300 numbers.
Ofcom considers that the bodies eligible to use 0300 numbers should meet at least one of two basic criteria:
They should appear on one of the lists of appropriate bodies, maintained by other organisations, that are indicated by Ofcom in this document; or
they should fulfil any of the other criteria indicated by Ofcom in this document that identify them as an appropriate body.
Ofcom retains discretion to indicate other bodies as eligible, but it would not normally expect to do so on an individual basis, to avoid undue administrative work. Other numbers in the 0300 number range (0333,0330) are available for use by those bodies not covered by the general criteria for eligibility to use 0300 numbers outlined in this document.
BT Offers Free Calls to 0870 and 0845 Numbers (10/03/2009)
BT today announced that it is to offer its Anytime customers free calls to 0870 and 0845 telephone numbers.
These national rate numbers, often used by banks and insurance companies, have been the bane of British phone enthusiasts for many a year. But for just £4.85 a month, these numbers are now free to call, along with calls to standard UK landlines.
John Petter, managing director of BT's Consumer business, said: "We know that the public is frustrated by having to pay higher charges for these numbers, even though BT's rates were cheaper than our rivals, so we worked out a way to go further and include calls to 0870 and 0845 numbers in our call packages.
"All of our 14m customers have free calls included in their package and now all 14m have free calls to 0870 and 0845 at times that fit with their calling plan, which is something not offered by any of our competitors."
Price Cut Plan for 0870 Numbers (05/03/2009)
The cost of calls to 0870 numbers will be cut under proposals by the regulator after complaints about price clarity.
The number is typically used by consumers when calling customer services departments or seeking advice such as traffic information.
Regulator Ofcom wants prices to come down from a typical daytime tariff of 6p to 10p per minute to 3p to 4p.
More expensive 0871 numbers would also be regulated by the premium-rate watchdog, under Ofcom's proposals.
The plans, which Ofcom wants in place by the autumn, are part of a wider review of so-called "non-geographic" numbers - which are not assigned by location.
The 0870 numbers are used by a wide range of businesses and organisations offering anything from traffic information to financial services.
Consumers have complained to Ofcom about a lack of transparency in pricing.
On average these calls cost between 6p and 10p per minute in the daytime from a BT landline and 1p to 5p at other times.
Ofcom wants this to be reduced to around 3.5p a minute in the day and 1p to 1.5p a minute at other times - similar to "geographic" telephone numbers.
The proposals would effectively rule out companies or organisations sharing the revenue generated by the calls.
Those which wanted to charge more would have to abide by strict rules on how call charges were advertised.
In a separate decision, Ofcom announced plans to improve consumer protection for calls to more expensive 0871 numbers.
It wants these numbers to come under the remit of PhonepayPlus, the premium-rate regulator.
Under the watchdog's rules, prices would have to be published on any advert or promotional material for an 0871 number and excessively long call queuing times could also be investigated.
Numbers that you add to your shortlist will be reserved for 30 mins
