Zenith number
Encyclopedia
A Zenith number is a special type of toll-free telephone number
in the United States and Canada that was introduced prior to the development of WATS
toll-free service. It allows a calling party
to call the number's owner at no charge by dialing the operator
and requesting the specified Zenith number. In some places the name Enterprise or the letters WX are used. Some organizations continue to keep their Zenith numbers (the California Highway Patrol
continues to use the same single number it has for decades, Zenith 1-2000), but with the low cost of incoming WATS service, Zenith numbers have nearly disappeared, and telephone companies in most service areas no longer offer new Zenith numbers.
The operator handled the call by looking up the regular number corresponding to the Zenith number, typically in a paper book kept at the switchboard, and completing the call as if it were a collect call to the regular number.
The reason the name Zenith is used is that the letter Z did not, at the time that the service started, appear on the telephone dial, thus necessitating that the caller dial the operator.
Toll-free telephone number
A toll-free, Freecall, Freephone, 800, 0800 or 1-800 number is a special telephone number which is free to the calling party, and instead the telephone carrier charges the called party the cost of the call...
in the United States and Canada that was introduced prior to the development of WATS
Wide Area Telephone Service
In U.S. telecommunications, a Wide Area Telephone Service is a long distance service offering for customer dial-type telecommunications between a given customer [user] station and stations within specified geographic rate areas employing a single telephone line between the customer user location...
toll-free service. It allows a calling party
Calling party
The calling party is a person who initiates a telephone call over the public switched telephone network, usually by dialing a telephone number....
to call the number's owner at no charge by dialing the operator
Telephone operator
A telephone operator is either* a person who provides assistance to a telephone caller, usually in the placing of operator assisted telephone calls such as calls from a pay phone, collect calls , calls which are billed to a credit card, station-to-station and person-to-person calls, and certain...
and requesting the specified Zenith number. In some places the name Enterprise or the letters WX are used. Some organizations continue to keep their Zenith numbers (the California Highway Patrol
California Highway Patrol
The California Highway Patrol is a law enforcement agency of the U.S. state of California. The CHP has patrol jurisdiction over all California highways and also acts as the state police....
continues to use the same single number it has for decades, Zenith 1-2000), but with the low cost of incoming WATS service, Zenith numbers have nearly disappeared, and telephone companies in most service areas no longer offer new Zenith numbers.
The operator handled the call by looking up the regular number corresponding to the Zenith number, typically in a paper book kept at the switchboard, and completing the call as if it were a collect call to the regular number.
The reason the name Zenith is used is that the letter Z did not, at the time that the service started, appear on the telephone dial, thus necessitating that the caller dial the operator.
Examples
- Ontario Provincial PoliceOntario Provincial PoliceThe Ontario Provincial Police is the Provincial Police service for the province of Ontario, Canada.-Overview:The OPP is the the largest deployed police force in Ontario, and the second largest in Canada. The service is responsible for providing policing services throughout the province in areas...
Detachment Search 50-000 - Ambulance Dispatchers - Ontario Zenith 80-000
- Town of Winchester, Ontario ambulance dispatcher Zenith 9000