Disclaimer: This was NOT written by AI, feel free to read.
Why do many of the free hotline numbers use a 605 phone number instead of a local number?
When you place a call with your phone, the call goes thru internet lines placed by companies around the region. Whenever you make a call it uses those companies wires, the company charges a minimal fee, usually fractions of a penny for cities. But in rural the companies that put all wires have a high cost for putting up wires over many miles and there is less customers that pay for it. So the fcc allows them to charge much more per call, a few cents per minute, so that they can make up for it.
So the way it works is that if you create a number with such an area code, then the call gets routed over these expensive lines, And every minute that someone is on the phone with this number the carrier makes a lot of money on it from the users phone company. They then give a kickback for the hotline owner for getting them the call. You never see the charge because your phone provider pays it. The more people spend on the phone with these hotlines, the more money the hotline owner makes.
This was mostly with https://www.freeconferencecall.com/ there are VoIP companies blocking these numbers and T-Mobile also can charge you more for it.
Here is a Wikipedia article about it Traffic pumping - Wikipedia
Nachum Segal Radio Live: 605-562-4400
605-313-1700 קול בחצרות (new number)
605-562-1616 Voice News
6053131729 קול תולדות אברהם יצחק
6053131833 קול סקאליע 18
6053136621 שיעורי הגה"צ אליעזר דוד פרידמ ן
6053136870 שיעורים מפי הרב אלימלך בידר מן
6053136881 שיעורי תורה - תשעה באב (US)
6054752897 Yeshiva International
6054752898 Fox News
6054754128 Yeshiva International
6054754996 Tehilas Yisroel
6055620400 Eliezer Krois Live
Not sure if all of these hotlines are still active, it just came up when I Googled them.
