When you decide to establish an 0871 phone service, you must be aware that certain types of 0871 phone service require licences / prior permission before you can start operating.
These 0871 licences are issued by the 0871 phone regulator Phoneplayplus.
Here is a summary of those type of 0871 phone services that NEED a license / prior permission:
- Services carrying a subscription charge and/or joining fee which costs a consumer more than £4.50 in any seven day period of their operation.
- Services which charge per page or image viewed
- Certain live services
- Participation in television broadcasting
- Remote gambling
- Professional advice
- Chatlines (multi-party chat)
- Consumer credit
- Counselling
- Anonymous SMS
- Voice-based virtual chat or voice-based sexual entertainment
- Call quiz tv
- Services utilising a dialler software
- International call routing services (e.g. calling cards)
If you intend to operate a live 0871 phone service there are some live 0871 phone services where a license / prior permission is NOT NEEDED – these are as follows:
- live customer support services
- live directory enquiry (DQ) services
- live data capture services – these are services that take callers’ details so that a service or product can be provided following the premium rate call
- connection services for live conversation for UK end destinations only – these services include services enabling ‘cheap’ (typically 10ppm up to 60ppm) calls to hospitalised relatives and friends
- live classified advertisement services – these services usually take the form of data capture services
- live alarm services – these services usually involve calls being made to the police at a premium rate by alarm monitoring centres following receipt of notification that alarms have been activated
- live betting tipster services
- live advice services – these exclude ‘professional’ services such as those providing legal or medical advice, or services providing any type of counselling
- live advice (including advice on consumer credit) and counselling services
- business conference services – these are services in which two or more persons are enabled to simultaneously conduct a telephone conversation with each other where that conversation is chaired by a designated individual and is in furtherance of an existing or forthcoming business relationship.
Even if the 0871 phone service you wish to operate DOES NOT require a license / prior permission, you must still inform PhonepayPlus in advance of the 0871 phone services you intend to operate. If you are unsure as to whether your 0871 phone service requires a license / prior permission or not, you are strongly urged to contact the 0871 phone number regulator – Phoneplayplus
