USA: Toll-free numbers and area codes
Many government agencies, car rental firms, hotels and so on have toll-free numbers , which usually have the prefix 1-800 (or increasingly, 1-888 or 1-877). From within the US, you can dial any number that starts with those digits free of charge. Phone numbers with the prefix 1-900 are pay-per-call lines, generally quite expensive and almost always involving either sports or phone sex.The US currently has about one hundred area codes - three-digit numbers that must precede the seven-figure number if you're calling from abroad or from a region with a different code. It can get confusing, especially as certain cities have several different area codes within their boundaries; for clarity, we've included the local area codes in all telephone numbers.
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