As already reported, Deutsche Telekom discontinued the operation of its 0700 numbers on November 30, 2020, as this business area was apparently no longer profitable enough. Since then, there are still alternative providers who switch this number range. Unfortunately, the availability of 0700 numbers has deteriorated significantly since then.
The reason: In most cases, callers from abroad can no longer call a 0700 number in Germany, although these numbers can still be reached within Germany. Callers from abroad hear very different messages, e.g. “This number is not available” (corresponds to SIP code 404) or “Subscriber temporarily unavailable” (corresponds to SIP code 480), or an aisle busy due to lack of the corresponding in-band announcement.
Many calls from abroad are handed over to Deutsche Telekom as the largest international carrier in Germany, and in the case of the 0700 lane, Deutsche Telekom apparently no longer forwards them. An obligation to do so would only arise at the request of the alternative carriers that operate 0700 numbers. However, the connection charges would then have to be negotiated with Deutsche Telekom, which has probably not been done so far.
As a result, the practical usefulness of the 0700 lane is now further restricted. In addition to the disadvantage that calls are usually not included in the flat rates or minute packages of landline and mobile providers, accessibility from abroad is now also restricted, so that an alternative number must be communicated for international callers. We therefore recommend switching to local network numbers or freephone numbers to avoid the problems mentioned above.
