1 800 numbers enable a person to call a business at no charge to themselves. When you dial one of these numbers, called "toll free numbers" or "free phone numbers" the charges are given to the person on the receiving end. This has been used for many businesses who want to ensure that customers who wish to place an order or ask questions do not need to pay for the privilege of doing so.
1967: AT&T
1 800 numbers have been around since 1967, when AT&T wanted to create a way for customers to call businesses without being charged for it. The service immediately proved extremely popular. Businesses quickly noticed how many more telephone calls they received once the customer didn't have to pay for them. It quickly became the case that businesses without these numbers received substantially fewer phone calls. Because of 1-800 numbers, business models built on mail order and television advertisements became much more profitable.
Phreaking
Phreaking is the name given to different strategies people used to explore phone systems. In 1957, a blind boy with perfect pitch discovered that by whistling different notes into the phone, he could cause the phone to dial any number. This is because the old phone systems relied on a series of tones to operate, which is no longer the case. In the 70's, Phreaking became a part of pop culture, and many people developed different systems to play with the system. 1 800 numbers became an easy exploit for Phreakers wanting to make free long distance calls.
The Bell System: Dismantled
In 1974, the US filed an antitrust lawsuit against AT&T, claiming the company held a monopoly over telecommunications. In 1982, the case was settled, resulting in a break up of AT&T's holdings into smaller subsidiaries. Each of these subsidiaries were assigned a batch of 1 800 numbers (http://www.itelecenter.com/Toll-Free-Number.aspx) for their own use. Unfortunately, this meant that if a business wanted to switch carriers, they would have to change their number to a new one that the carrier owned. In the case of vanity numbers, this could prove problematic.
1-800 Numbers Today
There are, unfortunately, only so many 800 numbers to go around. When phone companies began making the switch to SMS services, they not only relinquished their individual control over the batch of free phone numbers that they owned, but also created more of them. This meant that the choice to switch carriers no longer required you to change numbers, and that there were more numbers available for everyone. 877, 866 and 855 numbers are now toll free and more prefixes are planned for conversion as they are needed.
There are still some problems with these numbers. For instance, cell phone users still have to pay for initializing a call, and their growing popularity makes it likely that even more number prefixes will have to be added to the toll free list, limiting the numbers available for private use. They have however, proven a boon for any telephone based business, making it easier for them to connect with customers.
1967: AT&T
1 800 numbers have been around since 1967, when AT&T wanted to create a way for customers to call businesses without being charged for it. The service immediately proved extremely popular. Businesses quickly noticed how many more telephone calls they received once the customer didn't have to pay for them. It quickly became the case that businesses without these numbers received substantially fewer phone calls. Because of 1-800 numbers, business models built on mail order and television advertisements became much more profitable.
Phreaking
Phreaking is the name given to different strategies people used to explore phone systems. In 1957, a blind boy with perfect pitch discovered that by whistling different notes into the phone, he could cause the phone to dial any number. This is because the old phone systems relied on a series of tones to operate, which is no longer the case. In the 70's, Phreaking became a part of pop culture, and many people developed different systems to play with the system. 1 800 numbers became an easy exploit for Phreakers wanting to make free long distance calls.
The Bell System: Dismantled
In 1974, the US filed an antitrust lawsuit against AT&T, claiming the company held a monopoly over telecommunications. In 1982, the case was settled, resulting in a break up of AT&T's holdings into smaller subsidiaries. Each of these subsidiaries were assigned a batch of 1 800 numbers (http://www.itelecenter.com/Toll-Free-Number.aspx) for their own use. Unfortunately, this meant that if a business wanted to switch carriers, they would have to change their number to a new one that the carrier owned. In the case of vanity numbers, this could prove problematic.
1-800 Numbers Today
There are, unfortunately, only so many 800 numbers to go around. When phone companies began making the switch to SMS services, they not only relinquished their individual control over the batch of free phone numbers that they owned, but also created more of them. This meant that the choice to switch carriers no longer required you to change numbers, and that there were more numbers available for everyone. 877, 866 and 855 numbers are now toll free and more prefixes are planned for conversion as they are needed.
There are still some problems with these numbers. For instance, cell phone users still have to pay for initializing a call, and their growing popularity makes it likely that even more number prefixes will have to be added to the toll free list, limiting the numbers available for private use. They have however, proven a boon for any telephone based business, making it easier for them to connect with customers.
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