Attachment B: Tracking a Toll-Free 511 Call
Caller dials 511 from a landline telephone.
Location of the caller does not matter, as the call will be transported on a toll-free backbone.
Telephone company switching office translates 511 call to a toll-free number. Call is sent on to ATIS service center.
Cost of translation is "included" in the cost of the toll-free call. In other words, the carrier providing the toll-free service often pays a "fee" to the local telephone company to switch the call for them.
Cost of providing the Toll-Free service is borne by the ATIS service provider, or the providing agency.
Call is answered at ATIS service center through automated voice response system.
In all cases, the cost for providing the physical lines to answer the calls is borne by the Service provider or providing agency.
Call may be forwarded to other partner agencies.
The cost of forwarding the call is borne by the service provider or providing agency.
In certain cases, such as when using a toll-free backbone, per-minute charges continue for the duration of the call transfer; in other cases, the transfer results in a one-time charge, per call, to the provider. |
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