786 blocks of 070 numbers left — as Ofcom keeps the personal-number cap

22 September 2026. The quietest corner of UK business telephony got its five-yearly review in March, and the verdict is unchanged: 070 "personal" numbers stay capped at the same wholesale rate as calls to mobiles. The range itself, though, is disappearing. As of 31 January 2026, just 786 blocks of 070 numbers were still allocated — with almost 40% of the range's blocks returned since 2019, by Ofcom's own figures.

The cap that rebuilt the range

Before Ofcom's 2018 review of the 070 range, whoever held a 070 number could set whatever wholesale termination rate the market would bear — an average of 38.84p per minute. Aligning the range with mobile termination rates collapsed that to 0.479p between Q4 2018 and Q4 2019, and dialling a 070 today costs the caller the same as a call to a standard mobile. In the March 2026 statement, Ofcom confirmed the caps on terminating calls to landlines, mobiles and 070 numbers all stay in place — with rates rising slightly in line with inflation from 1 June 2026, then annually each April for the rest of the review period.

A range shrinking by design

The number is falling because the use cases are. Cheap IP call-divert services and virtual numbers have replaced the old 070 "follow me" trick, and the range's pre-2018 association with premium-rate misuse still colours how buyers see it. Ofcom acknowledges that wholesale reductions have not consistently reached retail prices; respondents pushed for further intervention, and Ofcom says it is still considering its options. Wholesale provider Magrathea has gone further, calling for the range to be reclassified outright — with more to say later this year. Any reclassification would change how 070 numbers are priced, sold and perceived.

Where a 070 still earns its keep

For a consultant, trader or anyone whose work is personal rather than corporate, a 070 personal number from DIDcomms still does one job no other range can: one memorable number that rings wherever you are, at the cost of a mobile call to whoever dials it. Port it onto a virtual number service so it answers over IP rather than copper — and Ofcom's porting rules mean you keep it when you move. For the main line of a customer-facing business, though, 01/02 or 03 remain the trust default — and 0800/0808 freephone if you want callers to pay nothing at all.

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