Un new area code that anyone will have to keep in mind: “0844”. In fact, starting next year, the commercial calls that we receive day by day on landlines or on our smartphones will be preceded by these four numbers. The purpose is clear: to make the recipient understand that there is an operator on the other end of the telephone intending to offer him an offer of any kind, from the internet to light, passing through forex (fashion of the moment) to pay TV.
The new rule was established by Agcom in law number 5 of 2018 which regulates precisely "the establishment of national prefixes for telephone calls for statistical, promotional and market research purposes".
But wait to breathe a sigh of relief because not all that glitters is gold. In fact, the same provision provides for an important exception. The 0844 area code may not be used by call centres appointed by a particular company to conduct an offer campaign.
Call centers will be able to continue to use a normal number starting with "0" or "3" (as if it were a normal cell phone). Which means only one thing: there will be no revolution given that most of the commercial offers that are offered to us every day come from these centres.
But there is also another novelty. Users will have the ability to call back the number (paying the price of a local call), an option that is not currently available. At the other end of the telephone, they will find an automatic switchboard which will inform who made the call, giving them the opportunity to take advantage of the offer. The latter change will come into force in the next two months, while the new prefix 044 will arrive in 2019.
The same law finally provides that whoever makes calls to realize statistical surveys will have to use another prefix "0843". However, the rule does not apply to Istat which has been granted the possibility of using a special number.
