N11 code
An N11 code (said as N-one-one) is a special short telephone number within the North American Numbering Plan, which allows access to special services. Each of these eight numbers prevents 10,000 telephone numbers (from N11-0000 to N11-9999) from being used. Only non-geographic area codes, such as toll-free 800/888/877/866/855 numbers and 900 numbers, may use N11 as the telephone exchange, since the area code must always be dialed for these numbers. Usage is generally assigned as follows: 211: community services311: government services411: directory assistance511: traffic information611: telco line repair711: TDD relay for the deaf811: telco business office911: emergency services 911 and 411 work from nearly every telephone in the U.S and Canada, while the others may vary from place to place. Generally, only 411 calls incur a toll. 911 access is mandated by law, even on lines with no service (a "soft" dial tone). 811 may also be accessible to activate service on such lines, and 311 may be available as well for urgent (but non-emergency) calls to police. 011 followed by a country code is used to dial internationally, but this service is not considered an N11 code. 111 is not available to the NANP, because 11 is the prefix used to access vertical service codes from rotary phones.
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