411 is a chargabletelephone number for localdirectory assistance inCanada and theUnited States. Until the early 1980s,411 – and the related113 number – was not a free to call company.
In the United States, the service is commonly known as "information",[1] although its official name is "directory assistance".[2]
The411 number has been in use since at least 1930[3] inNew York City,[4]San Francisco,[5] and other large cities wherepanel andcrossbarswitching equipment installed by theBell System was prevalent. However, in smaller Bell System cities as well as almost all areas served byGTE and other companies wherestep-by-step equipment was the norm such asLos Angeles,[6]113 was used until at least the 1960s, and in some cases (thePacific Northwest, for example) until the mid-1980s.
In Canada and the United States, directory assistance was historically a local function, and most companies updated listings at their directory assistance centers frequently, sometimes daily. Whenlong-distance numbers were needed, prior to the full introduction of direct-dialed long-distance service, callers would call either411 or0 (Operator) and request a free long-distance connection to the directory assistance center in the distant city.
In 1962, direct-dialed long-distance directory assistance became available. The number in cities with panel and crossbar switching equipment was[area code]-555-1212, whereas in cities with step-by-step equipment the number was1-555-1212 (or112-555-1212) for numbers not local but in the same area code and1-[area code]-555-1212 (or112-[area code]-555-1212) for numbers in other area codes. In some area codes, the directory assistance center was able to serve the entire area code, but in many, the operator in the principal city of the area code dialed would connect the caller onward to a more local directory assistance center for the most up-to-date information.
After the introduction oflocal exchange competition, most telephone companies outsourced directory assistance service to nationwide call centers. This has blurred the distinction between411 and555-1212. Forregulatory reasons, where telephone service is provided by traditional local-exchange carriers, thelocal carrier will determine how to handle 411, the chosen local toll (intra-LATA) carrier will determine how to handle555-1212 calls for area codes within the LATA, and the chosenlong-distance carrier for inter-LATA) calls will determine how to handle [other-area-code-555-1212] calls. For service provided by cellular andVoIP carriers where the customer does not have a choice of local toll or long-distance carriers, all calls may be handled the same way.
In North America, all areas formerly using113 have been converted to using411, and11x is now reserved forvertical service codes. Outside North America, "11x" numbers are still in use, for these and other services. In most European countries,11x numbers are related to emergency services and112 is theemergency telephone number in theEuropean Union as well as some other European and non-European countries.
Direct-distance dialing (DDD) was first introduced in areas with common-control switching (panel andcrossbar) in the 1950s. These areas had used411 for directory assistance, and because of the ability of common-control switching to analyze the initial digits of a number in a "sender" before routing the call, these areas did not require the dialing of an initial1 to initiate along-distance call. There was no ambiguity, because the initial assignment ofarea codes always used either a0 or a1 as the second digit, and the second digit of local numbers was never a0 or a1 because of the use of two-letter plus 5-digit local numbering, with the letters only on digits 2–9 of the dial.
Areas withstep-by-step equipment processed the call one digit at a time as dialed by the caller, and thus needed a common prefix to distinguish long-distance dialing from local calls. The Bell System design choice was1, but since113 was in use for directory assistance, along with other11x codes ("Repair" was114).,[7] changes had to be made in the step-by-step areas. Initially,112 was used temporarily as the prefix in most of these areas. To simplify long-distance calling, it was desirable to change this to a1. Some areas converted immediately to411 for directory assistance and611 for repair. Other areas retained113 by installing what were known as "double-header" trunks, which actually connected the call to the long-distance equipment and then "snatched it back" if the second digit was also a1.
The conversion proceeded as follows in Springfield, Massachusetts:
| Year | Local D.A. | L.D. Prefix | Long Distance D.A. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1961 | 113 | 112 | 0[8] |
| 1962 | 411 | 1 | 0[9] |
| 1963 | 411 | 1 | 1-555-1212 (for information outside Springfield but within 413) 1-[area code]-555-1212 (for information in other area codes)[10] |
The services ofdirectory assistance queries is often outsourced to acall center which specializes in the task. Historically, when a single carrier provided most of the telephone services for a region, the data used to satisfy the search could exclusively come for that carrier's subscriber rolls. Today, when the market is fragmented amongst many carriers, the data must be aggregated by adata aggregator specializing in directory listings. Thedata aggregator distributes the data to the411 services either on a "live" basis, serving each query on-demand, or by periodically transferring large swaths of listings to the call center's systems for local searching.
Thedata aggregator collects the data from the rolls of many telecommunication carriers. Some carriers such asVonage do not send their customer rolls to the aggregator. Their customers can get their listings in the directory assistance database using a free service such asListYourself.net.
411 landline service has been historically provided by local telephone companies, including those of the formerBell System or subsequentRegional Bell Operating Companies (RBOCs). Telephone carriers since that time may provide the411 calls to the customer free of charge.[11][better source needed]
Since the 1984Bell System divestiture, theRBOCs in the United States have priced411 use higher to an average of US$1.25 per call, compared to $0.50CAD in most of Canada,[citation needed] providing opportunities for competing services in the United States, such as ad-sponsored1-800-FREE-411.
In addition to the local and long-distance directory services, there is also a "Wireless411 Service". As specified by the industry, the service will give wireless subscribers the choice of including their wireless phone numbers in directory assistance services.
Consumers can opt in to listing their name and cellphone number with directory assistance services, such as411. The information is currently not published in print or online directories. Additionally, the information is not added to, or otherwise shared with, marketing lists or telemarketing firms.
The service will allow anylandline or wireless phone user to call411 and be connected to the wireless listing of a subscriber who has chosen to participate in the service. Carriers who make up the industry LLC creating the service includeAlltel (now absorbed byVerizon Wireless),AT&T,T-Mobile, andSprint Nextel (now absorbed by T-Mobile).
 | This section needs to beupdated. Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information.(January 2025) |
In the United States cellular market, AT&T announced its withdrawal of411 service for its wireless phone customers, effective November 1, 2022. AT&T also announced it would discontinue landline411 services in 21 states starting January 1, 2023.[12][1]
