800’s Get Low

Toll free numbers enable callers to reach businesses, organizations, and non-profits without having to pay for the call. This marketing tool has been so successful that the available 1-800, 888, 877, and 866 numbers are decreasing while demand is growing at unprecedented rates. Read more on this immediately by clicking here.

State Officials Using Toll Free

Pennsylvania park officials have joined the toll free phone service informational craze. Residents can now call to see if it is safe to go out on snowy park trails. There’s a toll-free number (1- 877-766-6253) for weather and trail conditions. About 1,900 miles of state forest roads and 870 miles of trails are open to snowmobilers statewide. Municipalities nationwide are constantly finding new ways to keep the public informed through toll free phone service.

Be Careful With Your Toll Free

Many toll free companies are offering cheap toll free service. If it sounds to good to be true, it probably is! The main problem with really cheap service is that the quality is extremely low because of VoIP usage. VoIP is cheap to run but comes with a lot of drawbacks, especially when using it to service your toll free number. If you do a little bit of searching you can always find comparable rates with beautifully established service on a top carrier.

VoIP can still be debilitating – read more here.

Man Penalized For Trying To Sell 800 Number

In an unstable economy, small businesses need reliable marketing tools to increase the flow of new and repeat business and compete with bigger, sustained companies. Toll free numbers instantly win customer confidence and give new businesses the jump start they need to grow into sustained companies.

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Television Commercials and Toll Free

A group of us waiting recently for a telecommunications conference to begin noticed during a local cable television broadcast that at every commercial break (five during a 30 minute program) there was at least one commercial advertising a toll free phone number. During one break, all four commercials had a toll free phone number announced and/or listed at the bottom of the screen. The companies advertising ranged from national companies to a locally-based fitness service. More proof of how many businesses use toll free nowadays. It is a marketing necessity.

Still Waiting on the 855’s

Widespread concerns about the dwindling supply of toll free numbers may not be addressed anytime soon. According to sources at the 800 Service Management System (SMS/800) the reserved 855 pre-fix, intended to restore stocks of toll free numbers, may not be released by the Federal Communications Commission for several years. In fact, industry insiders say the release of 855 may be put off until 2011.

Get the full story here.

Businesses Find Salvation in 877 Numbers

In the past, 800 and 888 pre-fixes have been the most popular choices of subscribers. Experts say this was due mostly to the lack of public awareness that 877 and 866 were also toll free. But in recent years, this situation has changed. Reports now indicate that the majority of the public recognizes all four pre-fixes as toll free. Business owners are quickly taking advantage of the 877 numbers.

But now with the overall supply of available toll free numbers dwindling, 877 numbers are going fast.

Read more here.

In the Face of Mass De-Activations, 800 Number Supplies Still Dwindling

A recent plea for the deactivation of unused 800 numbers resulted in a surge of numbers returned to the main database. But despite these mass replacements, the supply of available toll free numbers continues to dwindle as thousands of subscribers register for a 1- 800 number each day.

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Toll Free Unprecedented

An unprecedented decrease in the availability of 1-800 numbers has business owners and organizations nationwide scrambling to subscribe for toll free service. Get the full article here.

Microsoft confirms 17-year-old Windows bug

Computerworld – Microsoft late yesterday issued its second advisory of the last week, warning users that a 17-year-old bug in the kernel of all 32-bit versions of Windows could be used by hackers to hijack PCs.

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