On February 10, 1993, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) ordered the Bell Operating Companies (BOCs) to jointly file a tariff which required the companies to provide Resp Org access to the TFNRegistry™. The resulting TFNRegistry™ Functions Tariff took effect on May 1, 1993. The current TFNRegistry™ Functions Tariff can be downloaded by clicking here. The BOCs formed the Executive Team (SET) to oversee all aspects of the TFNRegistry service including the tariff, operational and contractual issues. In 2008, the BOCs established SMS/800, Inc. In 2013, SMS/800, Inc. assumed the tariff authority and responsibility for TFNRegistry services. In 2015, SMS/800, Inc. became known as Somos, Inc.
Under the tariff guidelines, Somos, Inc. provides the TFNRegistry User Interface (UI) (tfnregistry.somos.com) and the Application Programming Interface (API) to Resp Orgs and Service Control Point Owner/Operators (SCP O/Os) and the Resp Orgs assume the duty of managing the appropriate records in the TFNRegistry. A given Toll-Free Number can have only one Resp Org at any given time. The TFNRegistry UI and API is accessible 24 hours per day, 7 days per week. For each access method, appropriate system security measures are provided. The TFNRegistry provides 3 basic support functions: 1) Number Search and Reservation; 2) Customer Record creation and modification; and 3) Report generation.
Number Search and Reservation
In a single search, a Resp Org can search for up to 10 Toll-Free Numbers (TFNs) at a time. If 11 or more TFNs are entered, it is considered a bulk Number Search and Reserve (NSR) request type. Unless specific search instructions are given, the TFNRegistry™ will provide a random selection of Spare numbers. A Resp Org can reserve a Spare number for a maximum period of 45 days prior to activating the TFN. Reserved TFNs not activated within 45 days will be converted from a Reserved status to a Spare status and returned to the Spare pool. Per FCC rules, the maximum quantity of TFNs a Resp Org can have in reserve status at any given time is equal to 7.5% of its working numbers or 2,000 numbers, whichever is greater.
Customer Record Creation and Modification
The Resp Org may create and modify Customer Records in the TFNRegistry™ and schedule the date and time the records are to be downloaded and activated in the Service Control Points (SCPs). The TFNRegistry will update the appropriate SCPs based on the Areas of Service (AOS) indicated in the Customer Record. The TFNRegistry also supports a variety of special capabilities intended to allow the Resp Org and the subscriber to administer, monitor and control the traffic associated with the Toll-Free Number (TFN).
Reports Generation
Various types of reports are available to Resp Orgs in the TFNRegistry™ Reporting. Reporting can be accessed by logging into the TFNRegistry User Interface (UI) (tfnregistry.somos.com) and select the "TFN Registry Reporting" menu item. Access to Reporting is permission-based. If you require permissions, please contact your Resp Org's Primary Contact and/or Company Administrator(s) for assistance. Additional information for Reporting can be found in the TFNRegistry Reporting User Guide which is available for download on the Somos Portal Website (portal.somos.com). After you have successfully logged into the Somos Portal Website, the document can be located in the "Find Documents" section under the "User Guides" menu item. Exception reports are generated automatically by the TFNRegistry when it detects an error in operation.