Ireland’s Non-Geographic Numbers Explained
Table of Contents
An explanation of each of Ireland’s non-geographic numbers (1850, 1890, 0818 and 076) affected by Comreg’s changes.
Updated: 11/01/2022
From 1 December 2019, ComReg announced that calls to the Irish Non-Geographic Number (1800 and 0818) ranges would cost no more than calling an Irish landline number.
This means that if you receive bundled minutes through your phone provider, calls to these numbers will now be included in these minutes.
Non-geographic numbers range
1800 Freephone/Toll-free
1800 numbers provide customers with a free contact method, with the business paying the total cost of the call.
These numbers can be used for customer service and sales and sales and marketing teams, providing a low-cost tool for campaigns.
0818 Numbers
An 0818 number is Ireland’s National number. It allows customers to pay a local rate for a call from anywhere in Ireland. These numbers are used by businesses to promote a national presence through their phone numbers.
Non-geographic numbers no longer in service
Starting in January 2022, ComReg stated that it would reduce the NGN ranges available to just 0818 and 1800 numbers. The ranges below are no longer in use.
1850 – Call Save Numbers
A Call Save Number allows customers to call your business anytime at a fixed rate. The customer paid the fixed rate, and the company that owns the numbers paid the rest.
These numbers were often used by call centres to provide customers with cheaper calls when calls lasted for extended periods.
Since Jan 2022 – This type of number is no longer in service!
1890 – Lo-Call Numbers
An 1890 number was known as a Lo-Call number. It was devised to allow customers to call businesses nationwide for a flat local rate. Lo-call numbers will enable you to call a company on the other side of the country for the exact cost of calling a business around the corner.
Since Jan 2022 – This type of number is no longer in service!
076 – VoIP Numbers
076 was a prefix that can be used for calling VoIP phones. This number range could be costly compared to other NGN ranges and wasn’t required for VoIP calls.
Since Jan 2022 – This type of number is no longer in service!
Preparing for the changes
If you currently own any of the above NGN ranges, please contact us, and we can advise you on the best solution for the future.
You can message us in live chat, call our freephone number, 1800 91 1800, or via the contact form.
For additional information on Irish phone number ranges, please find the following articles:
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in2tel is a telecoms carrier and solution provider that has been operating in Ireland and the UK for 19 years. It provides organisations with affordable, bespoke designs often found in large-scale enterprises. in2tel’s services offer communication channels for contact centres, sales and marketing teams, and internal departments for a wide variety of businesses and SMEs.
