Toll Free Numbers

in the North American Numbering Plan (known as WATS lines) are sometimes called "800 numbers" after the original area code which was used to dial them. They include the area codes 800, 888 (since 1995), 877 (since 1997), 866 (since 2000), 855 (since 2000 although not yet in heavy use), 844, 833 and 822 (the last three are not yet active but reserved).

A universal international freephone number (UIFN) is a worldwide toll-free "800 number" issued by the ITU. Like the 800 area code issued for the NANP in the U.S. and Canada, the call is free for the caller, and the receiver pays the charges. UIFN uses ITU country code 800, so that no matter where the caller is, only the international access code (IAC) and the 8-digit UIFN need to be dialed. Currently, about 30 countries participate in the UIFN programme.

How Toll-Free (800 Numbers) calls are handled by operators

In the US, both interexchange carriers (IXCs) such as Sprint, AT&T, and Verizon, and Local Exchange Carriers (LECs) such as Verizon and AT&T offer toll free services.

The format of the toll-free number (800 numbers) is called a non-geographic number, in contrast to telephone numbers associated with households which are geographic. In the latter case, it is possible to determine an approximate location of the caller from the dial code (e.g. New York or London). Toll-free numbers in contrast could be physically located anywhere in the country (or even abroad).

When a toll free number is dialed, the first job of the telephone operator is to determine where the actual physical destination is. This is achieved using the intelligent network capabilities embedded into the network.

In the simplest case, the toll-free number is translated into a regular geographic number. This number is then routed by the telephone exchange in the normal way. More complicated cases may apply special routing rules in addition such as Time of Day routing.