811 underground infrastructure hotline denied

The CRTC said Thursday it has denied an application from the Canadian Common Ground Alliance (CCGA) to broaden the use of the 811 dialing code for a national “locate service” to determine locations of underground infrastructure. In a release, the commission said the CCGA requested to broaden the use of the 811 code “to include access to call centres that provide an underground infrastructure locate service.” The 811 dialing code is now used by Canada’s telehealth triage service, the CRTC said. In its application, the CCGA said underground infrastructure supporting Canadian telecommunications networks or resources such as gas, energy or water can be damaged or disrupted during excavations. The group proposed that the “best way” to prevent disruptions would be to establish a “locate service” that can be accessed by telephone before starting an excavation. “The CCGA argued that this access should be provided via 8-1-1 in conjunction with the current telehealth services,” the commission said. The CCGA proposed that the locate service be offered through an interactive voice response system where the first option would be the telehealth service and the second would be the locate service. The commission said there would be public benefits from a national locate service but “the record has not demonstrated that this benefit can only be achieved through the use of an N-1-1 code.” The CRTC said the use of a national 1-800 or 310 number would serve the same purpose.

811 underground infrastructure hotline denied

Brief | March 22, 2012

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