Zenith number

The service preceded the system of toll-free telephone numbers with area code 800 in the United States.

[2] Introduced in the 1930s, a Zenith number was listed in local directories in each community from which a business desired to receive calls.

For an organization expecting calls from a specific area but not very frequently, a Zenith number could provide savings over using foreign exchange (FX) service.

In the United States and Canada, usage of manual Zenith numbers diminished after the 1967 introduction of interstate direct-dial 800 area code InWATS toll-free service, and especially after 1982 when 800 calls no longer had to be placed via special fixed-rate trunks.

A similar service in the United Kingdom, in which callers asked operators for "Freephone (name or number)", had no direct-dial counterpart until 1985.

Zenith telephone number listing in a 1938 Southern California telephone directory [ 1 ]
Bell System telephone dial of 1953 with letter Z at the Operator -position with digit 0 , a common feature since the 1930s.