A Brief History of Toll-Free Phone Numbers

What Are Toll-Free Numbers, and Where Did They Come From?

We all know a Toll-Free number when we see one. Hack, some of us who couldn’t even remember their own phone number if their life depended on it can chirrup the Domino’s Pizza 1-800 as if they'd written the darn jingle themselves!

But the toll-free numbers we know and love today actually had their humble origins in a service called ‘Interstate INWARD WATS’, designed by AT&T way back when Disney’s ‘Jungle Book’ was burning the silver screen and Party Costumes were the latest fad in 1967. You see, back then, if someone called collect (read: had the person he was calling foot the bill), the call was routed to an operator, who had to contact the other party for approval.

The thing is, as more and more collect calls were being placed to businesses, the poor operators simply couldn’t keep up to satisfy the demand. What's more, since no business owner in their right minds would have answered ‘No!’ to incoming business, the need for constant authorization has become redundant, and INWARD WATS was introduced to automate the collect calling process and relieve the operators of this burden.

Little did they know at the time that this new feature was destined to revolutionize the business marketing world only a decade later.

From Niche to Mainstream

Initially the service had a limited appeal because, with the way 800 calls were processed, different numbers had to be used in different states. But in 1981 a new processing method and a centralized data-base surmounted this hurdle and enabled the use of a single 1-800 number flat across the nation. That’s when the full potential of auto-collect-calling became apparent and demand started to sky-rocket.

Shaking-off the Shackles

In 1993, an FCC order severed the link between 1-800 numbers and telephone providers, demanding that all toll-free numbers be portable, and thereby enabling business customers to take their numbers with them when making a switch. This obliterated the last disadvantage as companies no longer had to worry about gearing their advertising around a number that might not be around down the road.

Additional 8-- Prefix Introduced and Others Earmarked for the Future

With 800 combinations fast depleting and an end in sight, the 888 was named as the next official toll-free prefix in 1995. The rest of the 8-- series were reserved for the future. 877 followed in 1998, 866 in 2000, and finally 855 in 2010. That’s the latest at the time of this writing.

Toll-Free Numbers Today

Though the scene has changed dramatically over the 30 or so years since toll-free numbers experienced their first boom, and though today many transactions can be completed over the web without ever picking up the phone, Toll-free numbers still have their place in everyday business—both for practical reasons and for the prestige they’ve gained over the years.

What’s more, with modern advances in telephony technology (such as hosted PBX products and VoIP calling) not only are toll-free numbers easier and cheaper to come by—the entire underlying structure of accepting collect calls is, for the first time, affordable enough to come within the reach of small-business pocketbooks. Now that’s exciting!

To read more about toll-free numbers and how you can get your own, check out the posts below.

Related Articles:

1. Why Your Business Needs a Toll-Free Phone Number
2. Does Your Business Need a Vanity Phone Number?

Sources:

1. http://www.phonepeople.com/history-of-toll-free-service
2. http://www.everyvoicemail.com/tollfreehistory.htm
3. http://www.fcc.gov/guides/toll-free-numbers-and-how-they-work

Labels: 1-800, 1-855, 1-866, 1-877, 1-888, history of toll-free numbers, hosted pbx, virtual PBX, what are 800 numbers, what are toll-free numbers

Anatomy of a Virtual Phone System: What’s in it, and why you need it?

So the question is no longer ‘am I getting a phone system?’ but ‘which system should I get?’

When buying a car, you know that there are certain things that are pretty much indispensible, like wheels or an engine—the car simply won’t function without them. Then there are extras. It’s the same here.

So let’s take a peek under the hood to see which features you absolutely MUST have, which are a nice upgrade, and which are knick-knacks:

Virtual IVR

If we mentioned a car, this would be the engine. IVR, or Interactive Voice Response, is the automated system that answers and routes incoming calls according to your preferences. Not all are made equal, and some would have more features than others, but you won’t find a system that doesn’t have one (if you do, run the other way!)

At the very minimum, a Virtual IVR should let you build custom phone trees and define your own call routing rules. Some, like Synclio, provide an extra layer of customization like recording your own voice greetings, which helps promote brand recognition.

Learn all about IVR in our 'IVR - Interactive Voice Response Demystified' article.

Voicemail

This is another staple that may come in different flavours, but should definitely be there.

At the very least, you should have the ability to access your stored messages by phone or email. An audio copy delivered to your inbox is pretty standard too. A cut above will let you access them online.

Web Management

This is a no brainer. After all, we are talking about a virtual service. Web management let’s you control all aspects of your virtual phone system online via a convenient web portal. You should not even consider a provider that doesn’t offer this—it’ll be like buying a hovercraft that doesn’t hover...

Call Handling Tools

Again, the specific features may vary between systems and providers, but it’s pretty standard to find call forwarding and at least some level of call screening and transferring. In short, the first lets you forward calls automatically (without a live operator), while the others let’s you control how a call should be handled once routed to your phone (answered, blocked, transfer to Voicemail or to a different number/s). This is usually controlled via your routing rules. For instance, if you leave the office at 6pm but like to remain available till 8pm, you can set it so that calls will be redirected to your cellphone for those two hours and straight to your voicemail thereafter.

Find Me/Follow Me

This is a convenient feature that lets your employees enter multiple phone numbers, so that whenever a call is routed the system will dial every number in succession until the employee is reached. It’s especially helpful if your team is mobile.

Dial by Name Directory

A classic feature we all know and love from the hours we’ve spent calling big conglomerates. (Ah...found memories!) It lets you use the alphanumeric touch-tone keypad to spell the name of a person you’re trying to reach.

Internet Fax

Offered by some, this service lets you send and receive faxes using your email account—even if you’ve never had, don’t have, and never plan to have a fax machine. Though a nice option to have, in today's era of smartphones, emails and snapshots are fast replacing the fax machine as an efficient, environmentally friendly, and cost effective solution.

Unless your business strictly depends on the use of fax, this is by no means a must-have.

Message Alert

Again, offered by some, this little gimmick sends you a text notification whenever a fax or voicemail has been received. A bit redundant at an age most anybody owns a Smartphone with instant email updates—but hey, some people still wear watches that have both digital and analog dials... so you never know.

1-800, Local, and Vanity Numbers

Any service worth considering should offer a local or 1-800 number with your account. Vanity numbers are usually available for an additional fee.

Call Records + Stats

This is a great way to keep track of your call traffic and to make sure that all are followed up upon. Records should be available online and stored for as long as your account remains active. Some providers, like Synclio, offer various statistics as well—great to pick up patterns or as a measure of your own performance. Learning and improving are keys to success.

Extensions

Services usually come with at least 5 extensions (for the base plan), and more as you go up. Some offer unlimited extensions. This is especially useful as it can accommodate business growth.

*Live Answer

This is not a common feature in virtual phone systems, as the primary purpose of is to provide an automated solution. But in Synclio’s case, with a parent company like ‘Answer Connect’—a major player in the live answering market that caters to many Fortune 500 companies—it’s a simple logical extension. Synclio intends to roll out a low cost, add-on service that will allow virtual IVR customers to take full advantage of this resource, bridging the gap between Automated and Live.

One last thing to keep in mind is that most companies would offer some form of free trial for their service, often 30 days. Make sure you review the billing cycle and any provisions (such as being charged if you’ve passed a set amount of minutes, etc), and only go with a provider whose service truly caters to what you need.

Remember, the real benefit of going virtual is freedom. The service should fit your image, not the other way around.

Happy shopping!

Labels: 1-800, business, call records, cloud computing, dial by name, extensions, find me, follow me, live answer, message alert, stats, vanity numbers, virtual IVR, virtual PBX, voicemail, web management