Personal phone number

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The personal number assigned by the Federal Network Agency refers to a telephone number with the area codes 0700 and 0701, which is not assigned to a specific connection or location, but can be flexibly forwarded to any connection. This means that the owner can be reached on the same telephone number during the day and in the evening, for example, although he or she takes the call at different locations. The telephone number also remains the same for a longer period of time, for example after moving house. This is why it is also advertised as a “personal phone number for life”. Unlike service, landline and mobile phone numbers, it is owned by the owner.

Situation in Germany

implementation

In Germany telephone numbers with the area code 0700 (and 0701 as a reserve) are used. The Federal Network Agency can issue a 0700 number on request to private individuals and legal entities for a one-time fee (around € 60). The applicant can freely select the eight-digit number from the unassigned numbers and therefore also receive a number for dialing letters ("vanity number"). The numbering length in Germany is 12 digits, i.e. 0700 (4 digits) + xxxxxxxx (8 digits) = 12 digits.

It is a personal, lifelong phone number owned by the owner. Initially, it is not linked to a connection . The assignment to a connection must be made at the request of the number holder by a telephone company , which usually charges a monthly fee for this. Calls to the 0700 number are then forwarded to the assigned connection (s). The owner of the number can change the assigned connections at any time, to any destination at home or abroad, in the landline or mobile network ("routing"). The owner can also control the "routing" in such a way that any number of connections can be addressed one after the other, so that it can be reached very easily compared to a simple landline number, for example. The caller does not notice this meanwhile, he hears the usual ringing tone .

The right of disposal over a 0700 number remains with the owner in any case and does not pass to the telephone company. If a 0700 number is not used for a certain period of time - i.e. it is not assigned to a connection - the network agency can withdraw it and assign it again.

The information portal Teltarif.de criticizes the fact that some of the numbers cannot yet be reached, especially from abroad.

fees

Will call charges to 0700 numbers currently the fixed network of Telekom from 6.3 cents per 30 seconds (Mon-Fri 9-18 pm), or 6.3 cents per minute (rest of the time, Sat + Sun all day, as of 06 / 2020) calculated. Depending on the mobile phone tariff, 0700 numbers can be more expensive or cheaper than calls to mobile phone connections, but as special numbers they are excluded from current flat-rate tariffs. The reason for this is that the tariffs for 0700 are not regulated by the Federal Network Agency, as is the case with 0180, for example.

history

The 0700 numbers were introduced in the late 1990s. In the first half of 2019, 123,017 such numbers were assigned in Germany. Teltarif.de cited high fees as reasons for the low level of adaptation, and the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung also cited bureaucracy and “a complicated system”.

In 2020, the interest group of owners of 0700 numbers (IG 0700) demanded that the tariffs for dialing 0700 be included in flat rates or billed like a landline or mobile phone call . In the same year, Telekom and 1 & 1, the last two larger providers , stopped hosting 0700 numbers. According to the FAZ there are “two, three”, and according to IG 0700 there are fourteen smaller companies that offer this service.

Alternative services

Since the personal number is associated with considerable costs (allocation and setup as a one-off cost, often monthly basic fees), the 0700 number range has so far only had limited success. Although there are no alternative services with comparable features, for many purposes where forwarding to different locations is in the foreground, Internet telephony is a sufficient substitute. The fees vary, basic services are often free.

Many Internet telephony providers also allow forwarding to any destination, sometimes even abroad. However, the forwarding can be set up less differentiated. Forwarding to landline connections is usually chargeable, but most Internet telephone connections can be used regardless of location in connection with any Internet connection ("nomadic use"), and regular forwarding is then not required. The costs for forwarding to mobile phone connections are comparable to those of the 0700 connections. Some providers allow multiple devices to be registered under one user account (parallel call). The caller is usually charged fees at the fixed network tariff (local number). Some providers also offer location-independent Internet numbers with 032 , but these are disadvantageous in terms of routing and tariffing.

Various cell phone providers also enable forwarding to external landline or cell phone numbers. With Sipgate One , a mobile phone product was still available that forwarded free of charge and in parallel to a landline, mobile phone and Skype connection. The service was discontinued during the beta phase.

Personal numbers in other countries

  • Worldwide personal numbers: +878
  • In Switzerland, FirstCom Group GmbH operates the OneNumber service (area code 0878). It was started in 1998 by Swisscom and taken over by FirstCom in 2001.
  • Discontinued: Europe-wide personal numbers in the European telephone numbering area (+ 3883-7-XXX-XXX-XXX)

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b 0700: phone number for life. In: teltarif.de. teltarif.de Onlineverlag, 2019, accessed on September 8, 2019 .
  2. ^ A b Achim Sawall: The personal phone number: Owners of 0700 want to get rid of special phone number status. In: Golem.de . May 5, 2020, accessed on June 20, 2020 (German).
  3. ↑ a b Michael Spehr: Call number dead-end: 0700 at the end . In: FAZ.NET . June 20, 2020, ISSN  0174-4909 ( faz.net [accessed June 20, 2020]).
  4. ^ Kai Petzke: Editorial: Mucking out in the special number zoo. In: Teltarif.de . May 31, 2020, accessed June 20, 2020 .
  5. ↑ The way to the 0700 number. In: IG 0700. Accessed June 20, 2020 (German).