Congress Weighs Plan to Auction Some 888 Numbers
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NEW YORK — Toll-free calling may get more expensive for the companies that foot the bill.
Congress is considering a plan to auction off some of the most sought-after numbers when the 888 series of toll-free numbers goes into service next month, industry sources said Wednesday.
The draft bill would mandate that the Federal Communications Commission auction off 375,000 so-called vanity numbers that have been reserved from the pool of 7 million 888 numbers.
A spokesman for the FCC acknowledged that the proposal had been discussed in Congress, and said the agency needed a statute to give it the authority to arrange an auction.
The most memorable vanity numbers--the ones whose corresponding letters spell something related to a particular business--generate millions of dollars in extra business and are keenly sought after.
The original 800 numbers were available free. They have become huge moneymakers for long-distance companies that administer the calling for client companies.
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