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Prefix dial phone suppliers

You may have heard of a prefix dial service, but what is it and how does it change the way you make your calls?

If you’re thinking of switching to a prefix dial phone supplier, you’ll need to know all the details, so here’s our guide to these companies.

• What is a prefix dial service?
• What are the advantages of using a prefix dial service?
• What are the disadvantages?

What is a prefix dial service?

This is a type of phone network that re-routes your calls when you dial a particular number. If you sign up with a company that does this, you’ll be given a short number to dial before all your eligible calls (it’s a good idea to write this number on your handset). Every secondary supplier uses some type of method to redirect calls away from BT and through their own network, and this is just another way of doing it.

What are the advantages of using a prefix dial service?

The main advantage is that most of these services don’t require a monthly fee or contract, and they tend to offer very cheap calls. In practical terms, this means that you can sign up for a specialist prefix dial service – for example, one that offers cheap calls to India – and dial the prefix every time you make that type of call.

For calls to the UK or other countries, you can dial normally (without the prefix) and your call will go through BT. You can even sign up with a different prefix dial service for each type of call – you can use one prefix for calling the UK, one for Asia and a different one for Australia. The possibilities are endless!

What are the disadvantages?

The main disadvantage is that you have to remember to dial the prefix every time. If you find this difficult, you can tape the number to your handset or programme the numbers you call most often into a speed-dial phone, complete with the prefix at the beginning.