800 Number on its Early Stages

The 800 number is a combination of the country code of the US and the first prefix digits of toll free phone numbers: the digit 1 is the US country code while the number 800 is the original toll free number prefix. The UK equivalent of the US 800 numbers are the 0800 numbers. The change in the composition of the number is because the UK country code is 0. These 800 telephone numbers were very effective in generating calls from new contacts or interested clients. It was able to attract new contacts because of the free incoming call service that it offered to callers.

The free incoming call was the primary attraction that 800 numbers had back when it was in its early stages. It was extremely effective in convincing customers to dial the numbers because it costs callers absolutely nothing. Making a call to a company that has a 800 number will be totally free. Businesses that were able to secure this original toll free number prefix back then have a distinct advantage over those that relied on plain old telephone systems for their communication. When clients see two companies that offer the same product and service, they favor the one whose contact number is toll free over the one that expects them to spend for a simple inquiry.

Being able to land the first call from a prospective client is very important for any business. However, obtaining a 800 number during its nascent stages was not easy. Its installation fee was so costly that only multinational companies were able to afford these numbers. Moreover, its operational, maintenance and upgrade expenses were also something that businesses should not take lightly. Its operational expense was costly because you are the one paying for all communication transactions. This means that all incoming and outgoing calls are charged to your company. This expense alone had been far too great for small and medium businesses to handle.

Fortunately for companies with limited funds and resources, the establishment of several toll free number service providers resulted in more affordable toll free numbers. Toll free numbers became inexpensive as a result of the competition among the existing service providers. As service providers competed for subscribers, some lowered their communication rates. The 800 number was no longer a contact number exclusive to big businesses. The inexpensiveness of 800 phone numbers led to many businesses acquiring this excellent business phone number. As small and medium businesses purchased toll free numbers, its supply also diminished at a fast rate.

In order to augment the depleting supply of the 800 number, other toll free prefixes were created. 888, 877 and 866, among others, were conjured to append the country code 1 to form new toll free numbers. This solution that was used in the US was also employed in the UK. This is the reason why we can see toll free numbers in the UK with 0888, 0877 and 0866 as the starting digits.