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.
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