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Non-Geographic Numbers are telephone numbers available to purchase (although some are available free of charge) that, if used appropriately, can significantly contribute to the success of your business. NGNs which begin with “09” are classed as Premium Rate Numbers because callers are charged more than 50p per minute.

When a customer calls your Non-Geographic number, the call is automatically redirected to whichever number is assigned to it. This can include standard land line, mobile, international or other NGN numbers. You will be able to take your calls, in a professional manner from any location. Generally you can change the "destination" number at no expense and as often as you want. This is very useful if you move office location permanently or if you are away for a short period of time.

NGNs do not require any extra phone lines or equipment. Calls to your NGN are simply diverted to the number of your choice, which will continue to work as normal for for both outgoing and incoming calls.

NGNs provide your business with a national presence by giving no indication of the geographical location of the number called. Also, depending on the type and features of the specific numbers you choose to employ, NGNs can be utilised for different purposes.

• Free phone (0800) numbers are used to encourage customer to call because whilst you bear the cost, it is free for them to ring you.
• If you are offering a service which is directly accessible to customers through the phone calls, you might want to use a Premium Rate Number or a Business rate Number which allow you to earn profits from the calls, on a revenue share basis.
• Another example of the application of NGNs is for companies that might operate abroad but whose customers are predominantly in the UK. This has two distinct benefits, firstly customers do not have to pay international call charges and secondly calls can be routed to whichever of your locations is currently working at the time the custoer calls.

A range of additional features are often available such as access to management and monitoring tools. These can usually be accessed on-line from you NGN provider. Using this feature, you could measure the effectiveness of your customer response, of specific marketing campaigns, or simply analyse calls flow to identify patterns.

Non-Geographical Numbers include: