Least Cost Routing in Plain English - 2 of 7

The system works by prefixing the number dialled with a code which, when it hits the exchange, tells the system to route the call via the relevant carrier and therefore the charges associated with it. If the first part of the calls journey (from your phone to the first exchange) is carried by BT, the carrier that takes over pays BT for their small contribution. In this way the cost for that call does not appear on your BT phone bill but on the bill sent to you from the designated carrier. The cost is therefore usually much lower than it would have been if BT had carried the call for its entire journey, in which case it would appear on your BT bill in the normal way.

Most modern phone systems do not require you to add this prefix each time you dial. As they can be programmed to automatically select the appropriate carrier for any given call.

When deregulation was first introduced it was only long distance calls that were cheaper than BT but nowadays virtually all calls are cheaper to a greater or lesser degree.

<<Last Page | Next Page>>