Here’s the 411: Millions lose access to operator and directory assistance in 2023
Julia Johnson
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Millions are no longer able to dial 411 to access operator and directory assistance.
AT&T announced last month that starting in 2023, it was going to discontinue the service on its phones.
“You won’t be able to dial 411 on AT&T Phones to request phone numbers or addresses. Also, when placing calls, you’ll need to dial phone numbers directly as Operator Assistance won’t be available,” said the company.
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It further directed customers to use online search engines and directories to locate phone numbers.
“Nearly all of these customers have internet access to look up this information,” said an AT&T spokesperson in a statement.
In March 2022, the company reported that it boasted 196.6 million wireless subscribers.
However, the operator feature was once a top selling point for AT&T. In ads from the early 1900s, 411 operators were featured heavily. “I’m glad you called,” reads one such ad. The operators were primarily women, as the ads highlighted.
“The voice with a smile,” was a slogan used by the company also during this time.
A variety of services and information ultimately became available from telephone operators, making it into a de facto search engine before the internet’s inception.
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Despite the service’s past popularity and convenience, usage has declined 90% since 1996, according to the president of U.S. Directory Assistance. He further claimed that usage has declined at about 3% a year.
Even so, the FCC reported that roughly 71 million calls were still placed to 411 in 2019.