03 telephone numbers could become the new freephone number from next year, according to a leading telecommunications company.

Windsor Telecom made the statement following a recent report from communications regulator Ofcom, which declared that more calls will be made from mobile phones than landlines in 2010.

The report found that currently 44.5% of all UK calls are made from mobiles and predicted that this will pass the 50% mark next year. That means by 2010 more people will get a free call by calling an 03 number than by calling an 0800 number.

This is because 0800 numbers are free to phone from a landline but can cost up to 20 pence per minute from a mobile phone. 03 numbers however, are included in the free minutes allocation offered by mobile tariffs making them a better option for mobile users.

Neil Sherring, chief executive of Windsor Telecom, said: “0800 numbers have long been popular with SMEs because offering a free call boosts the amount of enquiries and sales they get. Ironically, the increasing usage of mobile phones has meant that freephone numbers aren’t always free anymore. The great thing about 03 numbers is that they are included in mobile users’ free minutes plus they’re cheaper for SMEs to run than 0800 numbers, so everyone’s a winner”.

03 numbers were launched by Ofcom in 2007 to increase ‘certainty, trust and confidence’ in the numbers that consumers use to call organisations. They are ‘non-geographic’ numbers, like 0800 numbers, which enable the companies using them to use various call features with their phones, including phone greeting messages, options menus and caller queues.

03 numbers are now used by thousands of organisations including the BBC, Pioneer, Metropolitan Police and numerous SMEs around the UK.