The FCC and Toll Free Phone Numbers

There are a lot of questions floating around these days about the role of the Federal Communications Commission in the toll free phone service industry. The FCC’s responsibilities are really pretty basic. Here is the lowdown:

Aside from regulating the use of toll free numbers and establishing rules on how they can be obtained and used, the FCC is the entity that reserves and launches new pre-fixes to beef up the supply of available toll free numbers. The amount of toll free numbers has been shrinking in recent years and all industry insiders are eagerly awaiting the release of the reserved 855 numbers. However, this may not happen for several years.

Started in 1967 by AT&T, 800 numbers came under the oversight of the FCC in the mid-1980s after the phone service monopoly disintegrated. When the popular 800 numbers became scarce, the FCC introduced the 888 and 877 numbers in the mid-1990s and the 866 pre-fix in 2000.

To make sure everyone has an equal shot at obtaining a 1-800 number, the FCC’s rules prohibit “warehousing” and “hoarding” of toll-free numbers. The Commission can impose hefty fines and can intervene if they find a number is being used in a manner contrary to the established regulations.

However, the FCC does not oversee the assignment of toll free numbers and does not have direct access to the toll free number database maintained by the 800 Services Management System (SMS/800). Numbers are assigned through service providers such as AT&T or Tollfreenumber.ORG.

Also, the FCC cannot make a request for a toll-free number on behalf of a customer. The FCC cannot reserve or hold numbers for a customer but they can mediate conflicts that arise over rights of ownership of specific numbers.