Don’t call that number or you’ll probably have to pay some hefty fees. Especially for that first minute. Adult chat lines (phone sex) and tech support are very common uses of premium-rate numbers. Other services include directory inquiries, weather forecasts, competitions and television voting. Some history:

Area Code 900 was first known to have been used in the United States in March 1977, for incoming calls to a nationwide talk radio broadcast featuring the newly elected President Jimmy Carter, hosted by anchorman Walter Cronkite. The number used for the radio program was one that was specially arranged by AT&T, CBS Radio, and the White House, to be free to the calling party. The 1970s version of 900 was not billed at premium-rate charges, but rather at regular long distance charges based on the time-of-day and day-of-week that the call was placed. However, by 1980, the 900 area code was completely restructured by AT&T to be the premium-rate special area code which it remains today.

No one realized the dangers of the 900-number until 1987 when a child apparently racked up $17,000 of charges. However, in 1996 the Federal Trade Commission revised their policies and rules governing interstate pay-per-call services, thus ending an era of rampant 1-900 abuse. Famous 900-numbers include:

• Hulk Hogan Hotline: the most popular from 1991-1993
• New Kids On The Block: 100k calls per week in its prime
• Dionne Warwick’s “Psychic Friends Network”: $100 million profits in the first few years

I was fortunate to find a great 1989 article from the Penn State Daily Collegian citing the phenomenon.

Daryl Holmes (sophomore-division of undergraduate studies), said he calls a 900 number to listen to the sounds of his favorite rapper, Ice T.

“First I just called to hear what it sounded like, now I do it just to hear the different messages that come on each day,” Holmes said. “It gets you hooked,” he said.

Holmes said the cost can get expensive if you call frequently as he sometimes does.

“Lately it hasn’t been too bad, but I remember when I first started to call my bill had to come up to about $30,” Holmes said. “The cost doesn’t really bother you because it is all in fun, you only live once,” he added.

The cost can be cut down if you call the number and do not listen to the entire message, or cut calling down to about once a week, Holmes said.

Michael L. Omansky, the vice president of marketing management for RCA Records, said revenue from 900 number phone calls to Grammy award winners D.J. Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince has entered into six-digit figures.

Omansky, who is responsible for the 900 number promotion for the rap duo, said he created a 900 number line for D.J. Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince after hearing about the success of the Freddy Kreuger 900 line that delivered scary two minute messages to callers by the Nightmare on Elm Street star.

The 900 number for D.J. Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince went into effect on June 24th, Omansky said. Shortly after, Phone Programs accumulated more than 100,000 calls a week to the rap group.

Early this morning I saw a TV spot advertising Quest Chat. Two phone numbers were given, as in the picture below. One was for my area, but the other was for Winnipeg, a good 1000 miles away!

Local area codes are the current practice

Conclusion: phone sex ain’t cheap

A Parody: