The telephone informations are an intelligence service making it possible to find a phone number starting from a name or of an address. This service was in the beginning set up by the State and carried out by the operators of Télécommunications.

In France

Origin

Initially and during very a long time, the telephone informations were provided by the " Telephone ladies " postal and telecommunications authorities. In the Years 1920, the first automatic telephone centres are brought into service, it is not thus enough more to take down compound, still is necessary it to know the number of its correspondent. Since 1921 in Switzerland and 1938 in France, by composing the 11 , an operator gives you the number sought starting from the name of the user. This information is provided starting from the directories published by the Management of the Stations and Telegraphs.

In Germany the telephone directory inquiries are launched in 1939 on the number 118 .

At the beginning of the Years 1970, with the installation of the electronic exchanges, the operators and operators are then exclusively charged to answer the requests for information or the complaints, the comparison of the correspondents being from now on automatic.

In 1980, a first test of electronic directory is carried out with Saint-Malo and Rennes. But it is in 1983 that a true revolution makes day with the appearance of the Minitel. The 11 is then used to reach the intelligence service of the minitel, while the 12 is allotted to the same service, but via an operator. In same time, the service of directory makes it possible the user to associate additional details, such as the name of the spouse or the profession. The first three minutes of research on the minitel are free. In 1986, one counts more than 7 million hours spent on the electronic directory, quantifies which reaches the 16 million later ten years.

The 11 becomes 3611 , at the time of the passage to classification with 10 digits in 1995.

In 1998, France Telecom launches a service of directory reversed accessible by the 3615 quidonc .

In 2003, the ART leans on the opening to the competition of the market of the telephone informations. On this date, one counts already several competitors of the 11 and the 12 of France Telecom:

  • 3200 of Scoot, launched in 2001
  • 3211 of Fonecta, launched in 2002
  • 3212 of France Telecom, for the international information
  • 222 of for the subscribers to the mobile network of SFR
  • 612 of for the subscribers to the mobile network of Bouygues Telecom
  • 712 of for the subscribers to the mobile network of Orange

To note that the 3912, launched in 2005, was the only service created after the reflection of the ART and before the appearance of the 118.

Liberalization of the service

In 1997, ECTRA ( European Committee for Telecommunications Regulatory Affairs ) recommends to the Member States European Union the opening to the competition of the telephone directory inquiries starting from the same telephone prefix: 118.

As of 2002, the suppliers of telephone informations, putting forward a too great historical notoriety of the 12 of France Telecom, require of the regulatory agency to study the abandonment of this number. Moreover, the June 25th 2004, a decision of the Council of State enjoint the ART to indicate within six month the conditions of suppression of the 12 and harmonization of the numbers of access to the intelligence services, which were then of two, three or four digits. They stress that since 1997 and the recommendation of the ECTRA of many countries, like the Spain, the Great Britain or the Germany, use series of numbers to 5 or 6 digits starting with 118.

The February 4th 2005, ART determines the conditions of installation of the new intelligence services, with a number with 6 digits starting with 118. The series 1181XX is reserved by the authority, to avoid giving a favor to the too beautiful number 118118 which it cannot put at the biddings. It is made obligation for the candidates to offer the universal service of telephone informations at least, that is to say the database of the national, fixed or mobile subscribers, VoIP and special issues free or paying.

The July 6th 2005, ARCEP (in the past ART) publishes the list of the 56 numbers allotted by drawing lot to 27 candidates.

The November 2nd 2005, the new numbers 118 are operational, the old ones, including 12, being temporarily reroutés towards the new services. The April 3rd 2006, the old numbers are not operational any more and diffuse a simple informative text message on the emergency call numbers and the installation of new numbers 118. The April 3rd 2007, these old numbers will be completely decontaminated.

The September 17th 2007, UFC - That to choose denounces the installation of the information into 118 and speaks about a true fiasco! , association denounces a bad quality of serrvice, very high prices and in increase constrante, tariff opacity, association speaks even about swindles and recommends to the consumers to turn to the 12 (i.e. 118.711).

The firemen of French-speaking Switzerland also complained owing to the fact that the advertizing clips around the numbers starting with 118 crossed the free-Switzerland border. However, in Switzerland, the 118 is the number of the firemen, which led to a growth of the erroneous calls on the power stations of Swiss alarms. A group of Genevese firemen launched his own advertizing clip, the 118 Projec' T, to counter this effect.

Evolution of the operators

On a market become very competing and of which the operators had to spend million euros in communication to make known their number, some of them quickly disappeared. Free was the first operator to propose the telephone informations Gratuit ement since April 1st 2006, subject to not consuming subscription-based services, and to call since the good operators. However, since the October 27th 2006, the service of Free was closed - on initiative of the operator him even and not on court order - following a lawsuit whose it was the object for misleading advertizing. The September 26th 2006, the company 118  400 SURT filed for bankruptcy its. In parallel, two new numbers opened running December 2006, the 118.739 and the 118.787 .

Numbers open to December 16th, 2006



Tariffs in the world

The United States

  • AT&T for Application 800-555-1212 Discontinuance , November 16th, 1999

France

  • Since the network fixes France Telecom and the networks mobile Orange, SFR, Bouygues Telecom, to see http://www.appel118.fr/detail.php, a site made by ARCEP
  • Since the network fixes Free, to see http://adsl.free.fr/tel/tarifs/tarif118.html

The United Kingdom

  • Cutting through the 118 confusion

  • Lawson Mark, The Guardian , March 19th, 2005, '' Dial 0 for progress ''
  • Patrick Hosking, New Statesman , September 6th, 2004, '' Adam Smith' S invisible hand has dialled has wrong number: the market system fails to work for directory inquiries. We cuts high prices, inaccurate information and has confused public ''

References

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