1-800-COLLECT

Phone number used for reverse charge calls July 2025 1-800-COLLECT 1-800-COLLECT logo.svg 1-800-COLLECT logo as of 2001 Collect calling WiMacTel CanadaUnited States 1993 United StatesCanada Telecom USA "Save a Buck or Two" (1990s) 1-800-COLLECT (1-800-265-5328) is a 1-800 number, owned and operated by WiMacTel, which provides fixed rate collect calling in the United States. The service was launched by MCI in 1993. History Launch Prior to 1993, collect calling was a virtual monopoly held by AT&T as people were accustomed to dialing "0" to place collect calls. MCI moved aggressively to insert itself into the market by launching 1-800-COLLECT that year. By dialing 1-800-COLLECT, customers could connect with an automated MCI system which would directly place a call to a designated receiving party for a fraction of the cost of the AT&T service for its operator-assisted collect calling. According to Advertising Age, 1-800-COLLECT went from concept to launch in less than three months.http://adage.com/article/news/angela-dunlap-1-800-collect/91208/ Angela Dunlop 1-800 Collect Fitzgerald Kate adage.com Crain Communications July 4, 1994 https://web.archive.org/web/20161219225713/http://adage.com/article/news/angela-dunlap-1-800-collect/91208/ December 19, 2016 Launched with a large marketing budget, within a year New York Magazine reported that MCI had "stamped 1-800-COLLECT onto our consciousness with a mammoth marketing blitz" aimed largely at Generation X consumers.Long-Distance Runaround New York Magazine January 31, 1994Lewyn Mike Mci Collects On 1 800 C O L L E C T https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/1994-06-12/mci-collects-on-1-800-c-o-l-l-e-c-t September 5, 2016 Bloomberg June 12, 1994 Competition Following the successful launch of 1-800-COLLECT, AT&T responded with a competing 1-800 phone number providing discounted collect calling, 1-800-OPERATOR. However, a significant portion of calls intended for 1-800-OPERATOR misspelled "Operator" as "Operater".https://books.google.com/books?id=ug8EAAAAMBAJ&q=1-800-operator+misspelled&pg=PA70 Net Buzz McNamara Paul Google/NetWorld 70 May 24, 1999 https://web.archive.org/web/20161219230829/https://books.google.ca/books?id=ug8EAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA70&lpg=PA70&dq=1-800-operator%2Bmisspelled&source=bl&ots=G0fcTxCLgX&sig=emdIL7VrU5Wj72dwYrpNNtoIva0&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiLn7GTr4HRAhVj44MKHfy_ArEQ6AEIMzAF December 19, 2016 dead The numerical translation for 1-800-OPERATER (1-800-673-7283) was, at the time, assigned for routing to the MCI network, which capitalized on the large number of spelling errors by connecting those calls to 1-800-COLLECT. After several months, AT&T realized they were inadvertently directing a portion of their business to MCI and terminated the 1-800-OPERATOR service, replacing it with 1-800-CALL-ATT.Handley John Telebomb: The Truth Behind the $500-billion Telecom Bust 2005 AMACOM 26 978-0-8144-2889-4 https://books.google.com/books?id=kPoNgFrwKtMCWhy You Shouldn't Dial 1-800-COLLECT, and Other Phone Number Oddities https://www.vice.com/en/article/why-you-shouldnt-dial-1-800-collect-and-other-phone-number-oddities/ September 5, 2016 VICE July 7, 2016 The local telephone companies, who lost a significant amount of business to both numbers, started fighting back with ads showing how much simpler it was to just dial 0 (Ameritech's ad said "Why push 800 numbers when you can just push one?") or later advertising calling cards as an alternative to calling someone collect. Later years By the time of MCI's bankruptcy in 2002, its 1-800-COLLECT business had fallen precipitously due to the growing market penetration of mobile phones and the decreasing popularity of pay phones, which had generated a large portion of the collect calling business. After MCI was acquired by Verizon following the bankruptcy, the 1-800-COLLECT business was transferred to a small Verizon subsidiary, Telecom USA. Though the service's robust advertising budget was terminated, it continued to receive a trickle of business. In 2014 one caller, who "still associated the 1-800-COLLECT number with reasonable collect call rates... so strong were the company's early ads", reported being charged $42.55 for a six-minute telephone call. On November 1, 2016 Viiz Communications, a Canadian company, announced they had acquired 1-800-COLLECT for an undisclosed amount.viiz Announces the Acquisition of 1-800-COLLECT https://www.newswire.com/news/viiz-announces-the-acquisition-of-1-800-collect-15950739 newswire.com November 28, 2018 November 1, 2016 Marketing 1-800-COLLECT advertising did not mention its connection to MCI in order to avoid confusion from persons who might otherwise believe they had to be MCI customers to use the service, as well as to attract AT&T "loyalists" disinclined to patronize an MCI service.Sellers Patricia MCI Communications Yes, Brands Can Still Work Magic https://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/fortune_archive/1994/02/07/78930/index.htm https://web.archive.org/web/20090201195304/http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/fortune_archive/1994/02/07/78930/index.htm dead February 1, 2009 September 6, 2016 Fortune February 7, 1994 In 1994, 1-800-COLLECT became one of the first six brands to use banner ads as part of a marketing campaign, purchasing a flight of ads on hotwired.com.D'Angelo Frank Happy Birthday, Digital Advertising! http://adage.com/article/digitalnext/happy-birthday-digital-advertising/139964/ September 5, 2016 AdAge October 26, 2009 Beginning in 1994, MCI sponsored airshow pilot Sean D. Tucker under the 1-800-COLLECT brand.https://www.thefreelibrary.com/1-800-COLLECT+FLIES+HIGH+WITH+SEAN+D.+TUCKER+AEROBATICS-a016683457 PR Newswire MCI – Sean D. Tucker – 1-800-COLLECT December 27, 2016 December 27, 2016 https://web.archive.org/web/20161227195741/https://www.thefreelibrary.com/1-800-COLLECT+FLIES+HIGH+WITH+SEAN+D.+TUCKER+AEROBATICS-a016683457 dead Tucker's biplane regularly appeared at military and civilian airshows throughout North America for several years, later transitioning to the 10-10-220 brand under MCI until the program ended in 2000. The service's heavy spend on television advertising made 1-800-COLLECT ads, which featured celebrities including Phil Hartman, Wayne Knight, Mr. T, and Arsenio Hall, a ubiquitous feature of the 1990s TV landscape in the United States.Anderson Nate Yup, 1-800-COLLECT is still in business—and charging massive fees https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2014/06/yup-1-800-collect-is-still-in-business-and-charging-massive-fees/ September 5, 2016 ArsTechnica June 28, 2014 In 2000, 1-800-COLLECT was being promoted with more than $160 million in annual advertising support by MCI.Endicott Craig Top 100 Megabrands http://adage.com/article/news/top-100-megabrands/57553/ September 5, 2016 AdAge July 17, 2000 Steve Burns, best known as the first host of the children's television show Blue's Clues served as an announcer for the ads.Norris Chris February 9, 2004 Me and You and a Dog Named Blue https://www.spin.com/2004/02/me-and-you-and-dog-named-blue/ www.spin.com References External links https://web.archive.org/web/20190329040352/http://1800collect.com/ Category:MCI Communications Category:Telephone numbers in the United States Category:Telecommunications-related introductions in 1993