The Logistics of Toll Free

Toll free phone service has steadily grown in popularity over the past few decades. It seems every sized company—from major corporations to home-based companies—are utilizing 1-800 numbers. Toll free numbers are limited to four specific area codes that work in the United States and Canada. All incoming calls to those numbers are paid for by the recipient of the call.

The popularity of 1-800 numbers has soared while supplies of the finite pool of toll free numbers have declined. Providers like Tollfreenumber.ORG can still obtain good custom numbers for their customers. But every day, supplies dwindle a bit more.

The four area codes currently available ---800, 888, 877 and 866--total 31,000,000 toll free numbers. Each area code has 7.7 million potential combinations. (some combinations within each area code group are blocked from use by the FCC) It is estimated that 19 million (or 65%) of all available toll free numbers are currently registered.

The breakdown is as follows:

6.5 million 1-800 numbers
5 million 888 phone numbers
4.9 million 877 numbers
3.1 million 866 numbers

When the supplies of all four area codes become extremely low, the FCC plans to release at least one of the reserved toll free area codes. When these 855, 844, 833 and 822 phone numbers are made available for use, subscribers will rush to obtain what are considered the “best” combination of numbers. However, these numbers cannot be guaranteed to any specific subscriber prior to their release.

Until then, its best to contact a provider with ample access to the remaining available numbers. Check out Tollfreenumber.ORG for more information.