North America: Free Local Calls
My understanding is that free calling originated when groups of farmers set up small telephone systems that were operated by a farmers wife.
Calls between these systems - 'long distance' - were charged for as the interconnection was by a Third Party.
These small systems were gobbled up by the interconnecting telephone systems but the free local calls remained.
No billing systems were available back in those days, anyway.
Biting the hand that feeds IT
