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Slide 1: Tracing the history of toll free numbers The history of toll free number began from the time when AT&T launched a new product called "interstate INWARD WATS” in 1967. To be precise, AT&T never had expected the product to become a huge success hence it cannot be said that they had actually launched the toll free number program. They never imagined the radical changes this product would bring to the world of business so fast. Basically AT&T introduced the "WATS" service as a solution to meet an anticipated shortage of telephone company operators. This was because the telephone operators were becoming stuffed with number of collect calls that were being received by the businesses on a daily basis. According to AT&T, the new service was a perfect solution for the telephone operators. However it only had a limited appeal. It was almost like a fairytale happening that by 1992, only 25 short years of initial implementation, 40% of the calls on AT&T's long distance network became toll free calls. In the early years of its introduction, the toll free number calling was a novelty and had only a modest and slow growth. But with the creation of centralized databases within AT&T's network, explosive growth has been triggered for the toll free number during 1980s. The advantage of using such databases was that it offered business organizations to have a single toll free number nationwide. It was not required to have different numbers for each state. As days passed, the toll free numbers became a hot favorite and it was considered as a smart business to advertise a toll free number. Thus the early days of modest growth flourished into a fully fledged run almost overnight. Hence there created a notion that if companies want to business properly, they must have a toll free number. Thus by late 1980s, getting a toll free number had become mandatory for all the business enterprises. With technological advancements, many facets of toll free numbers also emerged. In this age of globalization, the combination of web site and a toll free number guarantees a truly successful and global storefront for the businesses. These days’ businesses are utilizing the power of web with the ease of use and also the omnipresence of telephone also plays a vital role in growing the turnover. Here, toll free number is the main catch. From its humble
Slide 2: beginning as interstate "INWARD WATS", toll free calling has reached popular heights. It has become an indispensable part of business life. The success of toll free numbers lies in the fact that it is useful for both business men and customers. While considering the benefits of toll free numbers, there would be many to its credit. The most obvious benefit is that offers the customers a chance to keep in touch with business firm without causing any charges. The level of credibility is also given by toll free numbers as it tells the customers that the company considers customer service seriously. For companies that are into high volume sales using internet, the toll free calling would be a must. They would surely benefit from the services. Source: RingCentral