Flashback Friday!
Posted by Tollfreenumber.ORG at August 1st, 2014
The invention of the telephone dates back to the 1800s and has been on a constant upswing ever since; always improving upon what’s been done prior. As telephones began working their way in to the hearts of people everywhere, it made sense to the phone companies that if someone picked up the phone to call someone else, it was them who should take on those charges. It wasn’t until the 1950s that the idea of reversing the charges to the called party was taken in to consideration and began to be implemented in a rather elementary manner.
We’ve all seen (or been a part of!) the period of time when we would make a call and it would go to an operator in a room with a large switchboard. She would pick up your call and then connect a cord into the proper portal depending on where you were wanting to make a call to. While this is all automated nowadays, it had a part in setting the stage for the modern toll free number. Certain agencies had a high call volume and it simply took too long for an operator to receive a call to a toll free number and then connect it up to all the corresponding portals. It ended up becoming more simplified so they could connect the call directly and charge the toll free subscriber (the one using the toll free number for their callers).
Most people will say the toll free number actually started in 1967 and they’d be right. That is when good old AT&T decided to make it a business venture. And it worked, BIG TIME! Marketing firms were busy figuring out ways to get their business clients in to the limelight and the toll free number was the next step. Toll Free Number use was growing in popularity at a steady pace for decades until it was realized that nearly all the 1-800 number combinations were GONE! That lead to the creation, and future plan, to release alternative “800” area codes. The 888, 877, and 866 were all released in the 90s following massive surges of new business owners, the internet, the marketing of vanity numbers, and new toll free service providers offering greater flexibility and pricing when obtaining a toll free number.
TollFreeNumber.ORG became one of the first groups of toll free service providers, besides AT&T, in the late 90s in response to high demand and high prices. When we came in to the market we wanted to offer not just competitive rates, but THE BEST RATES. Most companies tend to start low but get a little greedy and raise prices or have “introductory” rates and then increase them after a few months. Not us – our rates have been consistently getting lower and, the best part, we haven’t sacrificed our quality! When many toll free providers are converting to cheaper VoIP service and raising their fees (despite it costing them less for an inferior service) we have kept to our motto of ‘Helping those in need, to succeed!’
For more information on our phenomenal toll free service, with the pricing, quality, and honesty you’ll find refreshing, contact us at 1-800-951-9411 today! Our friendly reps are happy to help in every way possible!
Category: Information