Federal Telecommunications Oversight

With so many toll free providers and million of new subscribers every year, the Federal Communications Commission is focusing more closely than ever before on toll free telecommunications.

The FCC regulates the use of toll free numbers and establishes rules on how they can be obtained and used. Also, the FCC reserves and launches new area codes, when necessary, to bolster the pool of available toll free numbers. Started in 1967 by AT&T, 800 numbers came under the oversight of the FCC in the mid-1980s after the phone service monopoly disintegrated.

When the popular 800 numbers became scarce, the FCC introduced the 888 and 877 numbers in the mid-1990s and the 866 pre-fix in 2000. The FCC is holding the yet-to-be-released 855, 844 and 833 area codes in reserve.

To make sure everyone has an equal shot at obtaining a 1-800 number, the FCC’s rules prohibit “warehousing” and “hoarding” of toll free numbers. The Commission can by law impose fines and can intervene if they find a number is being used in a manner contrary to the established regulations. For example, 1-800-RED-CROSS was taken away from a California man who was reportedly using the number improperly; the FCC then assigned the number to the RED CROSS for appropriate use.

However, the FCC does not oversee the specific assignment of individual toll free numbers and does not have direct access to the toll free number database maintained by the 800 Services Management System. Numbers are then assigned to specific subscribers through toll free service providers such as AT&T or Tollfreenumber.ORG.