8-1-1
In the
North American Numbering Plan (NANP), particularly in
Canada and the
U.S., the
telephone number 811 has traditionally been a direct line to the
business office of the
telephone company providing service on the line. From there, one may perform some or all of the following operations:
*pay the
bill*order additional lines
*order and cancel services
*order and rent
equipment*order
calling cards
*speak to
customer serviceOn
mobile phones,
611 is sometimes also used for this purpose. Many telephone companies, including Canada's
TELUS, are experimenting with merging 811 and 611 service now that neither will usually route directly to a human
operator. Generally, an
interactive voice response system or other
automated attendant will now answer both lines anyway.
All 811 services in the U.S. will end up using 611 by early
2007, as the
FCC in
March 2005 made 811 the universal number for the 71 regional services that coordinate
location services for underground
public utilities in the U.S. [
1] Currently, each of these "
call before you dig" services has its own
800 number, and the FCC and others want to make it as easy as possible for everyone planning an
excavation to call first. This
safety measure not only
prevents damage that interrupts
telecommunications, but also the cutting of
electricity,
water mains, and most dangerously
natural gas pipes. Establishment of an
abbreviated dialing number for this purpose was required by the
Pipeline Safety Improvement Act of
2002.
The FCC had never officially assigned 811 for any service before, but has not prevented its use either. In
Canada, in July
2005, the
CRTC assigned 811 for non-urgent health teletriage services.
At one point in time, this number routed to 911 as a misdialed call, but this operation has long passed from use. It was designed so that when someone was in a
crisis, they would not be
panicked by having reached the wrong line. However, the reassignment of this code was required due to the scarcity of
N11 numbers.
*
Canada*
CRTC approval of 8-1-1 in Canada
