Ireland’s Non-Geographic Numbers Explained

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 the cost of calling an Irish landline number.

This means that if you receive bundled minutes through your phone provider, now calls to these numbers will be included in these minutes.

Non-geographic numbers ranges

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 from January 2022, ComReg stated that it will reduce the NGN ranges available to just 0818 and 1800 numbers. The below ranges are no longer in use.

1850 – Call Save Numbers

A Call Save Number allows customers to call your business for any amount of time at a fixed rate. The customer pays this fixed-rate and the business that owns the numbers will pay the rest.

These numbers are used to provide customers with cheaper calls when calls last for extended periods. These numbers are often used in contact centres.

Since Jan 2022 – This type of number is no longer in service!

1890 – Lo-Call Numbers

An 1890 number is known as a Lo-Call number. It was devised to allow customers to call businesses from all over the country, for a flat local rate. Lo-call numbers allow you to call a business on the other side of the country, for the same cost as calling a business around the corner.

Since Jan 2022 – This type of number is no longer in service!

076 – VoIP Numbers

076 is a prefix that can be used for calling VoIP phones. This number range can be costly compared to other NGN ranges and isn’t required for VoIP calls.

Since Jan 2022 – This type of number is no longer in service!

I own an NGN, what will I be charged now?

This is yet to be decided by ComReg, with a decision to be made in the next two months. We will keep the website updated with any further news that is released.

Preparing for the changes

If you currently own any of the above NGN ranges, please get in touch and we can advise you on the best solution moving forward.

You can drop us a message in the live chat, call our freephone number 1800 91 1800, or send us a message via the contact form.

For additional information on Irish phone number ranges, please find the following articles:

• 0818 Numbers – Everything you need to know
• 1800 Numbers – Everything you need to know
• From 1 May 2020, 1800 numbers will be cheaper to own

About in2tel

in2tel is a telecoms carrier and solution provider that’s been operating in Ireland and the UK for 17 years. It provides organisations with an affordable, bespoke design that is often found in large-scale enterprises. in2tel’s services provide communication channels for contact centres, sales and marketing teams and internal departments for a large variety of small businesses and SMEs.