To simplify things a little, there are basically two types of services in the toll free business. There are vanity number owners (which I sometimes call “Squatters”) and there are regular phone companies.  Regular phone companies also break down into two types too, Traditional carriers and Enhanced voicemail service. 

Shared Use/Squatters

Vanity number squatters own specific numbers and want to sell or even worse, rent a small part of their number for as much as possible.  This is usually called “Shared Use” and can provide access to better vanity numbers but they’re also significantly more expensive both with their monthly fee and their per minute rates. They also limit your territory and they retain the ultimate ownership rights and control which can ultimately leave you at their mercy the more you advertise the number.  Shared use companies also tend to come across a little like used car dealers sometimes.

Traditional Carriers

The major phone companies from AT&T or MCI down to hundreds of smaller competitive long distance companies mainly sell long distance service but also provide the toll free service directly to end users. They are portable so the number owner can change them from carrier to carrier and so are much more competitive in price but they don’t come with voicemail, they simply route the calls to your toll free number to your local number, period.

Enhanced Voicemail Services

The other type of phone company generally offers more services such as voicemail, menu options, recorded greetings and follow me features to try you at multiple different numbers. These “enhanced service providers” sometimes called Virtual Office Services or Enhanced Voicemail Services don’t just deliver the calls straight to a local number. The call goes into their platform, switch or even a simple computer, where they can play an initial greeting and then give the caller options to hear recorded messages, leave messages or be routed to selected departments or people. The computer then routes the call based on the programmed menu and the caller’s input to one or multiple different people usually while the caller is on hold.

Enhanced services can oftan announce the call, give the recipient the option of accepting or rejecting the call, try additional numbers and even take messages. These services can provide a lot of additional functionality and value if you need these services, but they also generally cost more per minute since there is usually two “legs,” one going into the computer and one going out to the recipient and they always have a slightly higher monthly fee.  You also have to be careful because some of these companies deceptively hide this 2nd leg charge in the fine print to try and sound cheaper.

There is more on all of these different types of services and their rates and which is best for you in the Providers Section, but this quick overview explains just a little of the types of companies you generally see.

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