the story of 1-800-RED-CROSS and 1-800 IDEAS.com

from a Wired story:

"They weren't going to give it to us, and they were going to charge us ridiculous amounts of money to use it," says Chuck Connor, senior vice president of communication and marketing for the American Red Cross. "They were talking about the kinds of money that changed hands for 1-800-FLOWERS, which is ridiculous."

from the FCC edited by me, links to doc or pdf
for the full FCC release

ORDER

Adopted: September 2, 2005 Released: September 2, 2005

By the Commission:

In this order, we grant the emergency request of the American Red
Cross for reassignment of the toll free number 1-800-RED-CROSS. As
explained below, we conclude that reassigning this toll free number
is a critical step in facilitating the Nation’s response to the
disaster wrought by Hurricane Katrina.

On September 2, 2005, the American Red Cross requested the immediate
reassignment of 1-800-RED-CROSS to help in the disaster relief and
coordination effort for the multi-state area affected by the hurricane.

In order to better facilitate these vital relief efforts in light of
the current emergency, we direct the toll-free database
administrator, Database Service Management, Inc. (“DSMI”), to
temporarily reassign the toll-free number that spells 1-800-RED-CROSS
(1-800-733-2767) to the national chapter of the American Red Cross.

In light of the scale of the disaster and the critical need to ensure
efficient, effective, and sufficient disaster relief operations, we
find that good cause exists to waive the relevant portions of the
Commission’s rules to ensure reassignment of 1-800-RED-CROSS to the
national chapter of the American Red Cross.

This action is particularly important given the role that charitable
donations play in funding the American Red Cross. We further
conclude that this reassignment is necessary to furthering the
overwhelming public interest in assisting the disaster recovery
efforts related to Hurricane Katrina. Reassigning 1-800-RED-CROSS
will greatly assist the American Red Cross – the only non-
governmental agency assigned a role as a lead agency in the Nation’s
National Response plan – to perform its disaster relief,
coordination, and fundraising efforts by providing an easily-
recognizable, central telephonic point of contact for the American
public.

Because we recognize that the safety and welfare of the general
public in the affected area may be at stake, we direct DSMI to
effectuate the reassignment of 1-800-RED-CROSS immediately.

In addition to exclusive jurisdiction over numbering resources, the
Commission also has an obligation to protect public safety and has
broad authority to execute its functions. Telephone numbers are a
public resource and neither carriers nor subscribers “own” their
telephone numbers. Courts have found that no one has a property
interest in a telephone number. In addition, the Commission has
created regulations and emphasized the importance of guarding against
warehousing, hoarding, and brokering of toll-free numbers to ensure
that numbers are made available on an equitable basis.

Consistent with this regulatory framework, toll-free numbers are made
available to end users on a first-come, first-serve basis unless
otherwise directed by the Commission. However, the plain language of
section 52.111 of the Commission’s rules authorizes the Commission to
direct assignment of toll free numbers on a basis different than the
usual first-come, first-served basis.

We find that the catastrophic damage to lives and property caused by
Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf Coast states warrants a deviation from
the first-come, first-serve rule in this situation.

We also find that using the Commission’s authority to reassign the
highly-recognizable 1-800-RED-CROSS (1-800-733-2767) number to the
national chapter of the American Red Cross will provide critical
support to the not-for-profit agency in carrying out its functions
during this time of disaster and assist in protecting public safety.

We therefore direct DSMI to reassign immediately the toll-free number
which spells 1-800-RED-CROSS (1-800-733-2767) from 1-800 IDEAS.com to
the national chapter of the American Red Cross.
We understand that, as a practical matter, only the American Red
Cross can effectively use 1-800-RED-CROSS because the number does not
spell anything that is of use to other parties. We recognize that
reassigning 1-800-RED-CROSS to the American Red Cross may result in
the imposition of some costs to 1-800-IDEAS.com.

In this regard, we note that the American Red Cross has
represented that it will reimburse 1-800 IDEAS.com for the reasonable costs of relinquishing this number, and we rely upon this
representation in making our decision.

In addition, we grant this reassignment effective for one year from
the date of release of this order. During the duration of this
temporary reassignment, we will examine the utility and effectiveness
of our action to determine whether any extension is warranted or
whether we should revisit or modify this reassignment. As stated
above, we note that the Commission’s rules expressly prohibit
warehousing and hoarding of numbers – including number brokering,
which is defined as “the selling of a toll free number by a private
entity for a fee” – and we will be sure to investigate any
allegations of abuse and to pursue appropriate enforcement action
against any entity that may violate these rules.

Accordingly, IT IS ORDERED, pursuant to sections 1, 4(i) and 251(e)
of the Communications Act of 1934, as amended, 47 U.S.C. §§ 151, 154
(i), and 251(e), and sections 1.3 and 52.111 of the Commission’s
rules, 47 C.F.R. §§ 1.3 and 52.111, that Database Service Management,
Inc. (“DSMI”), reassign the toll-free number which spells 1-800-RED-
CROSS (1-800-733-2767) to the national chapter of the American Red
Cross for a period of one year as described herein.

Currently the American Red Cross is assigned toll-free number 1-800-
HELP-NOW (1-800-435-7669). The toll-free number which spells 1-800-
RED-CROSS (1-800-733-2767) is currently held by a for-profit
corporation, 1-800 Ideas.com, Inc., which is based in San Diego,
Calif. and incorporated in Nevada.