Toll-free Number

A toll-free telephone number, often known as a freephone number, is a phone number that is charged for all incoming calls. A landline call to a toll-free number is cost-free for the calling party. An area code-like calling prefix identifies a toll-free number. Access to particular services varies by nation. As telephone networks transitioned from electro-mechanical call switching to computerised stored programme-controlled networks, the features of toll-free services also changed. Initially, a collect call, frequently long-distance, had to be made through a telephone company operator and was charged to the party being phoned. Before manually completing the call, the operator had to confirm that the charges were accepted at the distant number or even delegate that option to a long-distance operator. Many collect calls were made to several large companies and government agencies, which was time-consuming for the callers and the operators.