Avoid Renting or Leasing of Toll Free Service

Toll Free clients should be advised that they could be unpleasantly surprised down the road if they rent or lease a toll free phone number. Ownership is generally better, far less risks. No surprise loss of a valued number.

Supply of U.S. 1-800s Running Out

Industry insiders are recommending that anyone wishing to obtain a toll free number secure one immediately. There are an average of 8,000 new toll free numbers registered each day. With a limited number of numerical possibilities, the finite supply is nearly expended.

Read more here.

855 Not to Be Released Depite Toll Free Supply Shortage

With several million new toll free numbers registered each year, the supply of toll free numbers is quickly depleting. The scarcity is causing a rush to obtain new toll free numbers or to register for disconnected numbers returned back to the system. Experts say this type of intense demand can lead to price-gouging and unethical hidden fees. The safest and most cost effective way to secure a toll free number is to contact a reputable service provider such as the one we list on our COMPANIES page at SMSGOV.COM.

Read more here.

Toll-Free Fax Numbers Save Trees

Going Green? Then join millions of toll free phone service subscribers in the latest trend and save paper by getting fax messages sent to e-mail. You’ll save money and the planet all at the same time.

Among the many benefits of signing on for toll-free service are the various features available from service providers such as Qwest, and Verizon. Calls can be routed to an any other phone line and faxes can be routed to email. These types of technological conveniences were just dreams a few years ago–now they are affordable realities. These state-of-the-art features are not available from most typical phone service providers.

1-800 Supply at Record Low

Toll free numbers were introduced in 1967. By the 1980s, nearly half of all long distance calls would be toll free. Today, 98 percent of adults say they regularly use toll free numbers. Meanwhile, the supply of 800, 888, 877, and 866 numbers are at an all-time low. More than two-thirds of the available numbers are taken and there are no immediate plans by the Federal Communications Commission to introduce a new pre-fix.

Read more here.

Avoid Toll Free Brokers On eBay

Sales of sought-after toll free numbers on eBay continue even as reports of the FCC looking into improper turnover of these numbers continues. Log on now and you will see listings. A black market for toll free numbers has emerged and attempts to illegally buy and sell choice numbers is increasing. According to regulations enacted by the FCC in 1997, toll free phone numbers cannot be sold or brokered. These rules were approved after the FCC fielded numerous complaints about price gouging for catchy vanity numbers and popular numeric sequences. The FCC reports that anyone caught attempting to sell or broker an 800 number faces significant fines. But that hasn’t stopped brokers from attempting to sell numbers on Internet websites and auction sites such as eBay.

Number Brokering: Part of the Toll Free Black Market

As “public resources” that cannot be bought or sold, the FCC deemed the practice of selling specific vanity numbers or numerical sequences illegal. Opponents say this practice hurts the industry because it limits the best use and most practical assignments of specific numbers. Still, the FCC has held fast, cracking down on illegal sales and regulating the assignment of numbers on a first-come, first –served basis from the main database of available numbers maintained by 800 Services Management System (SMS/800).

Read more here.

Toll Free Numbers Provide Assurance of Security

Concerns about Internet fraud and other scams can harm legitimate business sales but business owners nationwide are finding solutions to this growing problem by using toll free phone numbers to communicate with their customers. Toll free phone numbers provide a sense of security for customers wary of scam businesses. Scammers won’t save the customer money by paying for the calls themselves. By offering toll free, business owners can distinguish themselves from the frauds.

Number Hoarding: Part of the Toll Free Black Market

The FCC began investigating hoarding of 800 numbers as far back as 1995, but despite the subsequent release of 888, 877, and 866 pre-fixes, the practice continues to grow along with the skyrocketing popularity of toll free service. The FCC has the 855 pre-fix reserved to alleviate the shortage but has not yet announced plans to release those numbers.

Read more here.

Toll Free Service Finds Enthusiasm in Home Market

Personal use of toll free phone service has skyrocketed in the past five years. Adults are now routinely providing elderly parents on a fixed income with an 800 number. Parents are hooking their kids up with toll free service so they can keep in constant communication. And experts say this trend is not a passing fancy. Toll free service for personal use is here to stay.

Read more here.