NOTE: Before mid summer 2003 we will finally have the only TRUE bottom line bill computer that allows you to enter as many variables as you desire from your current or anticipated bill(s) and see the actual bill cost under each of the low cost provider's plans. It will take less than 2 minutes to have all this info in front of you for your perusal. Check back in a few days to see how your bill would look from a database of hundreds of plans.

If you've followed the recommended steps before arriving at this page, your work is already done. The best toll-free provider for you has already been determined. In case you jumped here first or decided not to follow the plan that will allow you to create the absolute lowest cost combination of all desired services, let's quickly review. You need to start at the top of the menu and work down. Understand how your phone bill is put together, then use the Custom Rate Computer and follow up with an examination of the rate tables to get your best interstate primary 1+ provider. When looking over the plans available on your phone line, check those that have 1+ or stand-alone toll-free numbers available and the fees (if any) that will be incurred. You may have a need for a toll-free number only for in-state or interstate calls, so take that into account when figuring the best plan for you. If you already know everything you need to about toll-free numbers and simply want to order then jump to the form and order. Otherwise, read on.

All the providers listed under the best plans have toll-free numbers available at competitive rates. You can add as many toll-free numbers as you like and they can ring to ANY numbers you desire. That's correct, you can have toll-free numbers to ANY number billed to your regular phone bill without incurring any additional charges other than the regular cost per minute of the call. Some charge a nominal fee for adding toll-free numbers, and some charge no fee. Please note that we are talking about the best companies previously selected by you from the tables, NOT one of the "Big 3" or other high cost providers. The plans from ATT, Sprint, MCI, and others, charge extra fees and usually higher rates per minute. Sometimes these rates are incredibly high.

Why would you want a toll-free number, let alone several toll-free numbers even if you only have one actual phone line? Well, they can save you a lot of money and make you a lot of money in so many different ways. The reason the new 888 and 877 (and now 866 and soon 855/844 and so on) codes have been necessary is because toll-free numbers are so useful and effective. First let's look at businesses. There are obvious things like customers and employees being able to call or fax the business easily and without cost to them. If you have sales people in the field, there is no better way for them to use all types of services, in addition to voice calls, to handle business needs. You can have one number sent to a fax machine for internal use, or directly to your computer network or just a single computer with a modem setup for sales info integration and on-line order entry. I have seen people recommend directing one to your ISP, but if your ISP doesn't have a cheaper toll-free access number than you can get for yourself, contact us and we'll set you up with an ISP that does and probably charges less than what you are now paying for basic service. Having separate numbers listed in your different ads or forms of advertising is one of the most common uses of multiple toll-free numbers. You can determine exactly which ad is most effective, or which part of the country or state your caller is from before you pick up the phone. This is also possible by installing ANI service (different from Caller-ID which is unavailable for many numbers or can be blocked) but it costs quite a bit more. Even without ANI detection equipment, you will always have a complete accounting of where all your toll-free calls came from on your bill.

Home toll-free numbers have an equal number of advantages. Set up a toll-free number for your home for friends and relatives to call without expense. The child away at school or camp, the elderly parent, or a friend or relative in a nursing home or treatment facility, all could benefit by calling you at the cheaper rates, and of course by you paying for it. One thing you NEVER want to do is have someone call you COLLECT and accept the charges. The costs can be beyond belief. Any family member or friend who might have to call you collect should know your toll-free number. If you have a business in your home, you can actually use a residential number (your regular home number) and have an 800 number for your business at no additional cost. This puts your business on par with the big guys and is impressive for people contacting you who need never know you're actually in your underwear lounging on the couch. You can add distinctive ring services for $3 to $6 on your home line and have one number for your home calls, one for your business, and another for a "dedicated" fax line, and answer each accordingly. You can even do this automatically using distinctive ring switches. We can set you up with one if you need it.

We've barely touched on all the advantages. The point is that much like a calling card, if you use the right provider, toll-free numbers have no downside. Well there is one small problem you MAY encounter and we cover this below in the information on the advantages and disadvantages of 800 versus 888/877/866. In any case, we assume you have decided that you must have at least one toll-free number or you wouldn't be here. The procedure for adding toll-free service couldn't be easier. When you call us (or we call you) to order your other long distance services, we can add toll-free numbers at the same time, and unlike 1+ service, a toll-free number added to any existing service, can be available literally in minutes after signing up. There are several things to consider about how your service needs to be setup and we detail those next.

First you need to have your number plan mapped out. If you need extra local lines or distinctive ring go ahead and order those. You don't have to wait until they are installed. You'll have the number immediately when ordering. Once you know what your "ring-to" numbers are going to be, you need to decide whether you want to get an original 800 number or use one of the new 888/877/866 codes. Each has its pros and cons. While 800 numbers are harder to get, you can still obtain them because people constantly change numbers, delete services, or go out of business. This is also the potential disadvantage to an 800 (as opposed to an 888/877/866) number, and why you must make a decision. Everybody knows that an 800 number is free for them to call, but some are still reluctant to call an 888 or other 8XX number even if TOLL FREE is boldly stated with it. 800 numbers are not always without charges to the caller, but this is another matter discussed on the illegal stuff page. In any case, you must decide which you want, assuming you can get an 800 number from the provider. The downside is that somebody, maybe many people or businesses have had that 800 number before you get it. On a new local number this is no big deal. You say - sorry wrong number and hang up. 800 wrong numbers will cost you a few cents. You may actually even be able to turn this into an advantage, although it's a stretch. If you have a product or service that can be sold to anyone and you are a very hard sell business, even a wrong number may turn into a new customer or lead if handled aggressively. Of course any line is susceptible to wrong numbers from types like the drunk trying to call Joe's 24 hour beer barn and dialing your toll-free or probably worse your home number at 3 AM.

A non-800 8XX number will not suffer from the wrong number (drunks excluded) syndrome, but may not get quite as many calls for the reason stated earlier. Also, when calls are made from a few antiquated centrex type systems, the 877/866 codes may not be properly recognized and the call won't go through. This is very rare and becoming rarer. 888 numbers should work from any phone that an 800 number will. There is one other possible advantage to an 8XX number as opposed to an 800. You MAY still be able to get a custom (vanity) number if you pick one of these codes. An example of this is 1-800-COLLECT, as stated previously a number you should NEVER use or accept calls from. Perhaps a better example is 1-800-FLOWERS. These phone numbers have actually become the business name to millions of people and can be a great boost to business if properly chosen and heavily promoted. You have almost no chance of getting one with an 800 code, but there is a small chance if you use 888/877/866 etc.. It can't hurt to try for one if you've got a catchy 7 character name worked out.

There is one final area that needs to be covered, and that is where you want to allow a specific toll-free call to originate. You can block out certain areas from a particular number to save money on the per minute costs of that specific provider or because you have no way to conduct business in that area and don't want to pay for wasted sales inquiries you can't handle. You will get the same rates for the toll-free number as you do from its provider (when using the best plans) so if you have read the pages on interstate and intrastate calling and determined that a combination plan is best for your bottom line, then the same will have to be applied to your toll-free numbers. Use your interstate provider for an interstate toll-free number and block your home state. Have a second toll-free number for instate usage from your instate provider (if different from the interstate) and block the other 49 states for that number. This brings up one other point. Some people may want to receive calls from Alaska, Hawaii, Canada, the Caribbean, and other areas where US toll-free numbers may be used without cost to the caller. You must setup numbers properly for these areas as well, because each provider charges for calls from these areas differently. Many people simply want all these areas totally blocked for all toll-free numbers as they will cost more to receive in most cases, even with the best rate providers.

We can also arrange to have your number listed with 800 information (1-800-555-1212) after the number is setup, if you believe this will help your business. They do charge a monthly fee for this and many companies don't think it pays. If you are nationally known, it will pay. If not, then the number will be included in your advertising anyway. We can list you free on an large number of other toll-free information services and we can discuss this when we talk. As with everything good, there is a downside to having your number listed with an information service. Telemarketers can use them (phone spam) to send you junk faxes or make appeals for contributions at your expense. They can get the number from your ads as well, although they normally use some kind of easily obtainable list to autodial with predictive dialers. All numbers are susceptible to this, even if not listed in any phone book or directory through the technique of computerized random number predictive autodialing. We're afraid to report that now fax autodialers are also being used to randomly dial numbers nationwide, listening for a fax tone and if one is found sending you an unwanted fax (wasting your supplies and tying up your line) AND adding your number to a database of known good fax numbers which they can then sell to others for the same insidious purpose. You do have a number of remedies in this area from the government and other sources and these are discussed in greater detail on the illegal stuff page.

So now you are ready to order. If you still need more information, as always feel free to contact us with any questions you may have. In either case the way to do this is the same. Simply fill out the form below and we'll call you back and get everything taken care of. If you have existing toll-free numbers and wish to switch those over to your new provider, we can handle that as well when we talk. This can almost always be done with no problem. It simply takes a signed form which you can fax us for quick processing. We don't ask for any personal information over the Internet so just leave your name, phone number and the best time to call. If you just need an answer to a question by E-mail, simply include your inquiry in the text box at the bottom of the form. You are not signing up for any plan by filling out this form, nor are you obligated to accept anything if we call.

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Finally had to institute a spam protection scheme 
but it does not require mega-vision or audio files.  
Simply enter first 3 numbers and then 3 lower case
letters for a total of 6 characters in the box below.
Simply put the first 3 sequential single digit numbers 
(starting with 1) and then the first 3 LOWER CASE 
letters arranged alphabetically (starting with a).