TRACNotes
Vol. 3 # 44 --
November 4, 2005
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BUCKS WATCH
Free Community Resources Just Three Buttons Away Most consumers know that dialing 9-1-1 will put them through to an emergency operator and that dialing 4-1-1 will get directory assistance. What about the other X-1-1 numbers? Fortunately, these numbers put a world of free useful information at consumers' fingertips. See below for an explanation of what each number provides:
- 2-1-1
is a relatively new service -- sponsored in large part by the United Way -- which puts callers in touch with community services offering information on topics such as job training, mental health, addiction, and debt counseling, low-income housing assistance, and senior citizen and youth programs. Services offered vary widely by city and locality, however. Click here for information on 2-1-1 services in your state.
- 3-1-1
is the number for non-emergency services, providing fast access to emergency operators that are not currently handling 9-1-1 calls. Some examples of non-emergency situations that could necessitate a call to 3-1-1 include reports of suspicious persons, noise complaints, debris in roadways, or minor injuries.
- 5-1-1
is a fast way to obtain traffic information from landline phones and many wireless phones. According to the U.S. Department of Transportation, 5-1-1 is designed in part to deliver more route-specific information than one would receive in a 30-second traffic update on the radio. 5-1-1 is currently fully available in 20 states and parts of California, Florida and Ohio. 27 other states have 5-1-1 systems in various stages of planning. For additional information on 5-1-1, click here.
- 6-1-1
should be used to report problems with telephone service. Callers dialing 6-1-1 from their home phone may be charged a fee to report an issue. 6-1-1 can also be used free of charge to report problems with a payphone. Many wireless companies use 6-1-1 or *6-1-1 as a short number to call to reach customer service for the carrier.
- 7-1-1
should be used to reach the Telecommunications Relay Service (TRS), which translates voice calls to telecommunications devices for the deaf or hard of hearing and vice versa. Every U.S. telephone company is required to connect calls to 7-1-1 to a TRS center, though VoIP carriers are not currently subject to this regulation.
- 8-1-1
has traditionally connected callers to the local telephone company’s business office. However, by early 2007, that function will be assigned to 6-1-1 and 8-1-1 will be used by contractors and others to contact regional services that coordinate digging projects to avoid hitting underground utility lines.
For additional information on the N-1-1 calling codes, click here.
WASHINGTON WATCH
Telecom Mega-Mergers May Lower Prices For Residential VoIP - The Federal Communications Commission this week approved the mergers of SBC and AT&T and Verizon and MCI, continuing a trend towards consolidation in the industry. “The FCC’s approval of these two deals marks the end of one era of telecommunications history and the start of another,” said TRAC Research Associate John Breyault. “However, in order for consumers to realize any benefit from these deals, the FCC will need to effectively enforce the merger conditions they set in the Order,” said Breyault. Most notably for consumers, the FCC’s Order approving the mergers set a number of conditions for the newly combined companies including:
- A commitment by the companies to offer for two years DSL broadband service without requiring subscribers to also subscribe to the providers’ local telephone service (so-called “naked DSL”) within 12 months of the closing date of the respective mergers.
- An agreement to respect “network neutrality,” rules for two years, allowing their broadband subscribers to use any application (such as VoIP calling or peer-to-peer file sharing services) without interference from the provider.
In short, these two commitments by the carriers will allow consumers to get a better deal for their VoIP phone service since they will be able to combine DSL broadband service (which is generally lower in price than cable modem service) with a VoIP calling service offered either by Verizon or SBC themselves or by a third party provider like Vonage or Skype. “The Commission needs to ensure that after two years, mechanisms are in place so that consumers have open access to all broadband-enabled applications at an affordable price,” said Breyault. For more information on the FCC’s approval of these mergers, click here.
TRAC AND YOU
Readers Respond With Thoughts On USF Funding – Last week, we asked TRACNotes readers to send in their thoughts on proposed changes to the funding mechanism for the Universal Service Fund. We received great response from our readers. “I'm in agreement that we should abolish the Universal Service Fund and use money from the Federal Excise Tax [to fund universal service],” wrote one reader. Another reader who wrote in disagreed with the concept of subsidizing rural phone service. “I am not sure I agree at all with ‘city’ users subsidizing ‘country’ users,” he wrote. “This type of tinkering can lead to unfair and bizarre anomalies over time.” To read last week’s article on proposed changes to the way USF fund are collected by the government, click here.
INTERESTING LINKS
FCC Main Page: http://www.fcc.gov
FCC Complaint Form - http://svartifoss2.fcc.gov/cib/fcc475.cfm
List of State Regulatory Commissions: http://www.naruc.org/displaycommon.cfm?an=15
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©2005 Telecommunications Research and Action Center. TRAC grants unlimited rights to reproduce TRACNotes or any information contained in it provided attribution is given as follows: "Source: Telecommunications Research and Action Center. http://www.trac.org"
