Cost of Calling 076 Numbers

Since December 1st 2019  the call charges on  076 numbers and other similar “non geographic” numbers in Ireland – (such as 1850 and 1890) have been simplified and also included in all provider’s call bundles.

From 1st December 2019 there is a new ‘Geo-Linked’ retail tariff condition for 1850, 1890, 0818 and 076 NGNs.

The cost of calls to 076 and all the above  numbers  are now no more than the cost of calling a Geographic number.

IF calls to Geographic Numbers (Landlines)  are included in a phone customer’s  bundle of ‘call minutes’ then calls to 1850, 1890, 0818 and 076 must  also be included in their bundle.

Read  : more about the changes to non geographic calls here

The use of an 076  phone number prefix in the Irish public service became common over the past few years.  The 076 prefix was initially rolled out as part of a wider Irish Government initiative to try and reduce call costs for both public bodies and customers.  It didn’t work

This 076  prefix was supposed to be a cheaper alternative to the  “Lo Call” 1890 and 1850 numbers. The problem with 1890 and 1850 numbers is that the telecoms providers treated them as an out of bundle number.
It was hoped that 076 numbers would be treated differently – but they weren’t.

Up to December 2019 – calls to  076  numbers weree usually charged at the same rate as if you were calling a national landline number. So – you might expect that they would be included in providers landline “bundles” ……. but 076 Calls were Not Included in most provider’s Bundles

Charges for calling an 076 number Before December 2019

• Three  – 35c per minute
• Vodafone Mobile  – 35c a minute
• Tesco Mobile 35c per minute
• Sky Landline  –   2.5c to 6.9c peak plus 9.7c connection fee.
• Virgin Media Landline –    4c per min plus a 20c connection fee.
•  Eir (com)  Landline  – ranges from 3c to 9c per minute depending on time of day.