Flextel
Encyclopedia
FleXtel is a British company that pioneered the use of personal numbering
in telecommunications in the United Kingdom
.
ran a trial which lead in 1992 to the AT&T EasyReach 700 service of follow-me numbers, on area code 700
in the USA
Numbering plan
.
Stanford White – a former AT&T
executive – brought this to the attention of Oftel
.
by Stanford White (of Numbering Viewed Worldwide Ltd) along with William Goodall (of Goodall Personal Numbering Ltd, renamed FleXtel Ltd in 1994). Finally, in mid-1993, each company was issued with a licence by the DTI
(now BERR
), under section 7 of the Telecommunications Act 1984, to provide telecommunications services. Together Stanford and William had effectively created the Personal Numbering
market in the UK.
Service by December 1993, piggy-backed onto the Mercury
One2One
GSM network on the old One2One 09567 range. FleXtel was the only player in this challenging pre-market phase.
(now Ofcom
), reserved the whole of the 070 range exclusively for Personal Numbering
, ensuring adequate number availability for the future. This move was fully supported by FleXtel and, in June 1995, FleXtel migrated its existing customers from the now 079567 to 07010, the first UK Personal Number service in the specially designated 070 range. This was quickly followed by intense competition from a number of new Personal Numbering providers.
.
In 2002 FleXtel deployed its own switches and real-time databases and gradually expanded its service proposition to Non-Geographic, Mobile and Geographic
Flexible Telephone numbers.
After over 15 years, the market now has numerous service providers of Virtual telephone numbers, each with a different package of advanced features, e.g. conference calling, fax to email, voicemail to email, area routing, time of day routing etc.
For more information on this interesting niche market see Personal Numbering
.
Personal Numbering
Personal numbering is the name for virtual telephone number services in a number of countries including the UK and Spain. Typically the national destination code used for this service is 70 service. This service has historically been poorly defined by Oftel and also Ofcom...
in telecommunications in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
.
Company history
In 1991 AT&TAT&T
AT&T Inc. is an American multinational telecommunications corporation headquartered in Whitacre Tower, Dallas, Texas, United States. It is the largest provider of mobile telephony and fixed telephony in the United States, and is also a provider of broadband and subscription television services...
ran a trial which lead in 1992 to the AT&T EasyReach 700 service of follow-me numbers, on area code 700
Area code 700
North American area code 700 of the North American Numbering Plan was introduced in 1983 to allow for presubscribing phone numbers to particular interexchange carriers...
in the USA
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
Numbering plan
North American Numbering Plan
The North American Numbering Plan is an integrated telephone numbering plan administered by Neustar which encompasses 24 countries and territories, including the United States and its territories, Canada, Bermuda, and 16 nations of the Caribbean...
.
Stanford White – a former AT&T
AT&T
AT&T Inc. is an American multinational telecommunications corporation headquartered in Whitacre Tower, Dallas, Texas, United States. It is the largest provider of mobile telephony and fixed telephony in the United States, and is also a provider of broadband and subscription television services...
executive – brought this to the attention of Oftel
Oftel
Oftel has been superseded as the British telecommunications regulator by Ofcom .----The Office of Telecommunications was a department in the United Kingdom government, under civil service control, charged with promoting competition and maintaining the interests of consumers in the UK...
.
Lobbying Oftel
After the Duopoly Review White Paper in 1991 it was clear that there was now an opportunity for small niche players in the UK Telecoms market. There followed a protracted period of lobbying of OftelOftel
Oftel has been superseded as the British telecommunications regulator by Ofcom .----The Office of Telecommunications was a department in the United Kingdom government, under civil service control, charged with promoting competition and maintaining the interests of consumers in the UK...
by Stanford White (of Numbering Viewed Worldwide Ltd) along with William Goodall (of Goodall Personal Numbering Ltd, renamed FleXtel Ltd in 1994). Finally, in mid-1993, each company was issued with a licence by the DTI
DTI
DTI may refer to:*Debt-to-income ratio*Deep trench isolation*Defense Technology Institute, the Thai defense technology public organisation*Department of Trade and Industry, a government department in several countries*Detroit, Toledo and Ironton Railroad...
(now BERR
Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform
The Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform was a United Kingdom government department. The department was created on 28 June 2007 on the disbanding of the Department of Trade and Industry , and was itself disbanded on 6 June 2009 on the creation of the Department for Business,...
), under section 7 of the Telecommunications Act 1984, to provide telecommunications services. Together Stanford and William had effectively created the Personal Numbering
Personal Numbering
Personal numbering is the name for virtual telephone number services in a number of countries including the UK and Spain. Typically the national destination code used for this service is 70 service. This service has historically been poorly defined by Oftel and also Ofcom...
market in the UK.
Company Formation
In 1992 FleXtel was formed by a team of management professionals, some of whom helped found and launch the Vodafone service. As a result of GSM roaming knowledge, FleXtel was able to launch the UK's first commercial Personal NumberingPersonal Numbering
Personal numbering is the name for virtual telephone number services in a number of countries including the UK and Spain. Typically the national destination code used for this service is 70 service. This service has historically been poorly defined by Oftel and also Ofcom...
Service by December 1993, piggy-backed onto the Mercury
Mercury Communications
Mercury Communications was a national telephone company in the United Kingdom. The company was formed in 1981 as a subsidiary of Cable & Wireless to challenge the monopoly of British Telecom which was privatised in 1984...
One2One
T-Mobile
T-Mobile International AG is a German-based holding company for Deutsche Telekom AG's various mobile communications subsidiaries outside Germany. Based in Bonn, Germany, its subsidiaries operate GSM and UMTS-based cellular networks in Europe, the United States, Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands...
GSM network on the old One2One 09567 range. FleXtel was the only player in this challenging pre-market phase.
The Market Appears
In 1995 the UK telecoms regulator, OftelOftel
Oftel has been superseded as the British telecommunications regulator by Ofcom .----The Office of Telecommunications was a department in the United Kingdom government, under civil service control, charged with promoting competition and maintaining the interests of consumers in the UK...
(now Ofcom
Ofcom
Ofcom is the government-approved regulatory authority for the broadcasting and telecommunications industries in the United Kingdom. Ofcom was initially established by the Office of Communications Act 2002. It received its full authority from the Communications Act 2003...
), reserved the whole of the 070 range exclusively for Personal Numbering
Personal Numbering
Personal numbering is the name for virtual telephone number services in a number of countries including the UK and Spain. Typically the national destination code used for this service is 70 service. This service has historically been poorly defined by Oftel and also Ofcom...
, ensuring adequate number availability for the future. This move was fully supported by FleXtel and, in June 1995, FleXtel migrated its existing customers from the now 079567 to 07010, the first UK Personal Number service in the specially designated 070 range. This was quickly followed by intense competition from a number of new Personal Numbering providers.
Technological developments
In 2001 FleXtel was first to launch the ability to reroute a Personal Number using SMSShort message service
Short Message Service is a text messaging service component of phone, web, or mobile communication systems, using standardized communications protocols that allow the exchange of short text messages between fixed line or mobile phone devices...
.
In 2002 FleXtel deployed its own switches and real-time databases and gradually expanded its service proposition to Non-Geographic, Mobile and Geographic
Geographic Number
A geographic number is a telephone number, from a range of numbers in the United Kingdom National Telephone Numbering Plan, where part of its digit structure contains geographic significance used for routing calls to the physical location of the network termination point of the subscriber to whom...
Flexible Telephone numbers.
After over 15 years, the market now has numerous service providers of Virtual telephone numbers, each with a different package of advanced features, e.g. conference calling, fax to email, voicemail to email, area routing, time of day routing etc.
For more information on this interesting niche market see Personal Numbering
Personal Numbering
Personal numbering is the name for virtual telephone number services in a number of countries including the UK and Spain. Typically the national destination code used for this service is 70 service. This service has historically been poorly defined by Oftel and also Ofcom...
.