Telecom Questions and Answers

Is there such a thing as a global toll free number? 

Sort of.  There is such a thing as a Universal International Freephone Number, or UIFN.  A UIFN is an international toll free number issued by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU).  The ITU is a specialized agency of the United Nations responsible for telecommunications.

UIFN numbers are formatted 800-xxxx-xxxx, so 800 followed by an eight-digit number.  To complete a call, the caller must dial their country’s access code before they dial the UIFN.  So a company could use the same 800-xxxx-xxxx for multiple countries, but would need to publicize a particular country code before the UIFN to guide that country’s callers.

UIFNs can be obtained from major carriers, including Verizon, AT&T and CenturyLink.

What are N11 Codes? 

You should know two of these – 411 and 911.  411 is for Directory Assistance and 911 for Emergency Services.

Here are the others:

211 – Local Community Services. (Worked when I called from my phone line in Princeton.  I received information regarding Hurricane Sandy.)

311 – Municipal Government Services.  (Did not work from my Princeton phone number.)

511 – Traveler Information.  (Worked.  I received New Jersey transit information.)

611 – Your telephone company’s customer service department.  (Worked on my wireless phone but not on my business phone line.)

711 – TDD Relay for the hearing impaired.  (Worked.  I received a live operator when I dialed.)

811 – Call before you dig.  (Worked.  I received the New Jersey One Call who will contact all the utilities, to mark their lines, if you need to excavate on your property.)

What’s a good way to reduce the amount of data you’re downloading on your wireless provider’s network? 

Now that carriers are eliminating unlimited data plans, mobile phone users, IT Directors, Telecom Managers and Company Controllers are becoming more aware of mobile phone data download charges.  Even if you have an unlimited data plan, you might not download the amount of data that would make an unlimited data plan cost effective.

Most homes and businesses have a Wi-Fi internet source.  Log onto a network on your mobile phone, the same way you did on a laptop or PC.   Once done, your phone will automatically use the Wi-Fi when it is available, reducing the amount of data you download on your wireless phone provider’s network.

With internet speeds of 25 to 50 Mbps widely available, your smart phone will perform better on Wi-Fi, compared to your wireless provider’s 3 or 4G network.

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