premium-rate telephone number

English - English

Definition of premium-rate telephone number in English English dictionary

Related Terms

premium-rate telephone number

A telephone number for which an extra charge is assessed to the caller, part of which is returned to the owner of the number

premium-rate telephone numbers

plural form of premium-rate telephone number

Hyphenation

premium-rate te-le-phone num-ber

Synonyms

800 number

Etymology

() In the original North American Numbering Plan, phone numbers beginning with an area code of "800" were reserved for so called toll-free numbers, where the party receiving the call pays the charges. The telephone companies later developed a corresponding set of numbers beginning with the area code "900" which would permit the owner of the number to receive additional fees from the caller.