911, 311, now 511. Assistance Phone Numbers
Web-based Mobile Technologies, Foreshadowed by AT&T
Oct 12, 2009 Ellen Freudenheim
New York State and California recently introduced a new transit and traffic information service, accessible by computer and over the telephone by dialing “511.” With experts predicting that soon everyone's data will be transmitted not over just desk-bound computers, but through mobile devices, maybe it's time to learn more about these 911, 311, 511 telephone numbers. How many free government information and service lines exist, and what, exactly, are the criteria for their use?
Public Service Telephone Numbers
There’s an entire micro-universe of "something....11" telephone numbers, reserved for good works and community service. AT&T introduced 911 as a nationwide emergency number in 1968. Use of 911 for emergencies and 411 for information is ubiquitous today in Canada and the U.S. But who has heard of 211, 611, 711, and 811?
Brief History of 911, 511 and Other Phone Numbers
Toll-free public service telephone numbers were the brainchild of the North American Numbering Plan or NAMP. NAMP was an international enterprise involving 24 countries, dating to 1947 when the Bell System, officially known as AT&T, was the nation’s only telephone company. As telephone technology advanced, and as more households got connected, it became necessary to organize the system. NAMP assigned eighty-six codes, each made up of 3 digit numbers, to specific geographic regions of the U.S. and Canada. The biggest cities received codes most quickly dialed on a rotary telephone, which was then state-of-the-art. New York was assigned 212, and Connecticut 203. Tiny Nova Scotia was assigned one of the slowest-to-dial numbers, 902.
The "something....11" telephone numbers were put aside for community functions. This set-aside was visionary, in a 20th-century way. But only 911 and 411 were widely implemented. Today, high-speed integrated Web and mobile phone technology could finally realize the vision.
Each number was assigned a different purpose. For instance, 211 was "reserved" for calls relating to health and human services. In an ideal world, a person could today dial 211, or log onto an affiliated Web site to get information about where to get a free mammogram, or H1N1 flu shot, or in case of public emergency.
Similarly, 311 was designated for non-emergency municipal government services, for instance to help a citizen figure out who to contact about a trash issue or noise complaint. Introduced under the Bloomberg administration, the 3-1-1 program has proven popular in New York City, opening channels of communication from the citizenry to City Hall and specific agencies. And, because today the calls can be tracked electronically, 311 serves as an important "listening" tool for politicians and public administrators, who can track and analyze incoming complaints and suggestions.
The original concept of the 511 number is finally coming to fruition, aided by computer technology. 511 was reserved as the number people could call to access traffic information, or report non-emergencies to the police. New integrated Web and phone-based technologies underlay initiatives by California and New York that offer consumers information about public transit and car traffic are a realization of at least the first component of the original idea.
The toll-free number 611 hasn't happened yet; it's meant to connect consumers to the telephone customer service and repair.
The telephone prefix 711, is dedicated to services for those with hearing or speech impairment, or who are deaf.
811 doesn’t sound like an electrifying number, but it could be. In the U.S. (but not Canada), it’s the number one calls to locate an underground public utility location. In New York State, 811 has been given the catchy tag line, “Excavation: ‘Know what’s below. Call before you dig.’”
Pricing Assistance Phone Calls, Fictional Prefixes
The system of public service telephone numbers is, like all things in life, more complicated than one might expect. In this case, the factors are pricing, globalization and Hollywood.
- Pricing. Some are free calls, others are not. 411 Directory Assistance calls are fee based; they cost money. Travel and transportation calls are free—except under certain circumstances, when they are not.
- Globalization. The numbers 011 followed by a country code are required to place an international call, thereby rendering 011 off-limits, A similar fate has befallen the most elegant of the permutations, 111, because that number has a function in, believe it or not, rotary phones.
- Fictional Prefixes. Anyone with mild dyslexia might be forgiven for confusing 511 with numbers beginning with 555. However (and save this for trivia games) the phone numbers 555-0100 through 555-0199 are reserved for use in TV and movies; this fictional prefix prevents real people whose number might have been used in a film from receiving nuisance calls.
511. 911. 311. There's a world of connectivity and service that hasn't yet been tapped in these and similar telephone numbers that were set aside decades ago for community purposes. And, while not every number in the "11" family works in every town or city, 21st-century technology can realize the underlying vision of last century's toll-free telephone numbers as a form of public service information.
511 Just the Newest Free Phone Servivce
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