About the 900 Number Business:

The 900 industry, widely know as "Pay-Per-Call" Information Lines, is a thriving billion dollar business with increasing volume records year after year. 900 numbers provide a large variety of packaged information, entertainment and services that people readily call. You see them advertised everywhere due to their enormous success. When you own a 900 number the profits are made in accordance to the number of calls your lines receive. As a 900 business owner you able to promote your 900 numbers in many different ways. A service bureau answers the calls 24 Hours a Day 7 days week, so you'll never need to stay by the phone or buy expensive equipment. Service Bureaus keep track of your 900 calls, and you pay them a small portion of the cost per minute to cover their telephone costs and expenses.

The Ideal Cash Generating Business:

900 numbers were first created in 1980 for ABC during the Reagan/Carter debates. The 900 numbers totaled over 500,000 calls during the debate.

900 numbers for informational use came in 1982 when NASA started an informational line for the space shuttle flights. Soon after, national companies realized the incredible opportunities in 900 numbers.

In 1987, Telesphere created the first coast to coast, interactive 900 numbers. This meant that anyone, anywhere could provide information regardless of the location. Many 900 lines for different topics began to spring up. At that point the 900 number business took off.

Today, you can come across hundreds of 900 numbers in daily newspapers, magazines, and the Internet. The cost of 900 lines have become affordable enough for anyone to take advantage of!

900 Numbers: Terms and Definitions

900 Number - A premium pay-per-call prefix set by the telecommunications carrier in conjuction with the FCC, specifically used for content and programs.

Activation - Establishment of account, set-up of 900 lines,which includes installation of daily call tracking and pay ready system.

Call Count - total number of calls received by a 900 number.

Call Count Volume - volume in minutes for any given period. (ie: 7 calls per day @ 6 minutes each = 42 minutes X 30 days = 1260 minutes)

Call Count Revenue - total revenue generated by call count volume.

Information provider - The "owner" of a 900 business, who is in the business of providing information for business, personal or entertainment purposes.

Programs - the content or material presented on a 900 line.

Service Bureau - An entity which is accredited by one of the major telephone carries (for example, MCI or AT&T) to process, program, and sell 900 lines. The carrier pays the service bureau for call count revenue, and in turn the service bureau remits payment to the I.P.'s on a monthly basis.

Telco - any federally accredited telecommunications carrier which also bills consumers for 900 activity.

Turnkey - Ready for business, with no need to provide equipment, staffing, or other expenses.