Toll-free telephone number
A toll-free, Freecall, Freephone, or 800
number is a special telephone number, in
that the called party is charged the cost of
the calls by the telephone carrier, instead of
the calling party. The cost of the call to the
called party is usually based on factors such
as the amount of usage the number experi-
ences, the cost of the trunk lines to the facil-
ity, and possibly a monthly flat rate service
charge. The called party may use a Freep-
hone number because:
• they charge the calling party in another
way, such as for technical support calls.
• they make a sale following the call to the
toll-free number.
• previous sales were enhanced with the
inclusion of toll-free support.
• it improves customer satisfaction by
providing free after-sales support in
certain products/services.
Early history
’Freephone’ services appeared in the 1960s,
with the Post Office introducing such a facil-
ity in 1960 [1]. A Toll-free service was also
originated on May 2, 1967 by AT&T as an al-
ternative to collect calling and to reduce the
need for operators. AT&T referred to the ser-
vice as IN-WATS, or Inward Wide-Area Tele-
phone Service (see WATS lines). The first
company to use toll-free lines hosted num-
bers for major companies. Americana Hotels,
Budget Rent a Car, Hyatt Hotels, Marriott
Hotels, Roadway Inns, Sheraton Hotels, and
Quality Inn were a few of the major compan-
ies hosted. They grew very quickly but still
went out of business. When this happened,
all the major players reacted by leasing space
in and behind that original Call Center loca-
tion (93rd and Bedford in Omaha, Nebraska)
in strip malls so they could continue to an-
swer their toll free calls and also rehire the
already trained staffing and management.
Northwestern Bell and AT&T dedicated staff
to the ’Res City’ area and their staff actually
had offices located in the same strip malls to
help make the transisition and service the ac-
counts going forward. That corner of 93rd
and Bedford became known as ’Res City’
because of all the