Ordering Switched Toll-Free Numbers

All the information in this chapter up to this point applies to all toll-free numbers, whether they ring to a switched phone number or into a dedicated circuit. Now I focus on switched toll-free service. Ordering a switched toll-free number without any advanced features is so basic that everything you need to include is usually added onto the standard RespOrg LOA document (refer to Figure 9-1). The only information your carrier needs to activate a switched toll-free number is the toll-free number, the ring-to number, and the area of coverage:

• The ring-to number receives the calls from your toll-free number: If you have five phone numbers that roll over to each other (what the telecom world refers to as a hunt group, because the calls hunt from one line to the next), you point your toll-free number to that first phone line so you can take calls on all five lines. The first number in the hunt group is your ring-to number.

• The area of coverage specifies the geographic area that your toll-free number serves: You can have one default area of coverage, or these options:

  • U.S. 48 states only

  • U.S. 48 states and Canada

  • U.S. 48 states, Puerto Rico, and U.S. Virgin Islands

  • U.S. 48 states, Canada, Puerto Rico, and U.S. Virgin Islands

  • U.S. 50 states only

  • U.S. 50 states and Canada

  • U.S. 50 states, Puerto Rico, and U.S. Virgin Islands

  • U.S. 50 states, Canada, Puerto Rico, and U.S. Virgin Islands

 Remember  Rates for toll-free calls from any area outside the 48 contiguous states are typically higher than domestic rates. Check the costs to determine whether it’s worth it to allow them access. If you have questions about the pricing for toll-free numbers, please visit the section about the costs of enhanced toll-free service in Chapter 5. While you’re there, you can read up on the enhanced toll-free features that might be useful for your business as well.

After you reserve a new toll-free number or successfully migrate an existing toll-free number to a new carrier, activating the number takes about 24 hours. The actual process of updating the national database to point the traffic from the toll-free number to the new carrier takes about 15 minutes, but your carrier is busy processing hundreds (maybe thousands) of orders, so you can wait a day, can’t you?