Vonage Can Now Beat Traffic
Subscribers Can Now Dial 511 Free of Charge to Receive Local Traffic Reports
HOLMDEL, N.J., Oct. 23 -- Vonage America Inc., a subsidiary of Vonage Holdings Corp. , a leading broadband telephony provider, today announced that its customers can now dial 511 from their Vonage phones, at no charge, to receive local traffic reports from their area 511 systems.
"Vonage is pleased to offer its customers the convenience of 511 dialing to speed up their commute," stated Michael Tribolet, president of Vonage America Inc. "This is just another example of Vonage answering its customer's needs."
When subscribers dial 511, their call is routed from Vonage's network to their local 511 Advanced Traveler Information Service (ATIS). 511 calls are routed locally based upon the address the customer registered for their 911 service.
511 Availability
There are currently thirty 511 systems operating in 26 states. Most of these systems are statewide, however, some regional systems that cover separate metropolitan areas or regions in a number of states are also in place. Vonage has made 511 available in each of the states or regions where the service is available, as listed below:
STATE COVERAGE AREA Alaska Statewide Arizona Statewide California Northern California/Sacramento region California San Francisco Bay Area region Colorado Statewide Florida Southeast Florida region Florida Central Florida/Orlando region Florida Tampa Bay region Florida Statewide system (covering all areas not included in regional systems) Idaho Statewide Iowa Statewide Kansas Statewide Kentucky Statewide (see OH for Northern KY) Maine Statewide Minnesota Statewide Montana Statewide Nebraska Statewide Nevada Statewide New Hampshire Statewide North Carolina Statewide North Dakota Statewide Ohio Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky region Oregon Statewide Rhode Island Statewide South Dakota Statewide Tennessee Statewide Utah Statewide Vermont Statewide Virginia Statewide Washington State Statewide Wyoming Statewide Vg-a About Vonage
Vonage is a leading provider of broadband telephone services with over 2 million subscriber lines. Our award-winning technology enables anyone to make and receive phone calls with a touch tone telephone almost anywhere a broadband Internet connection is available. We offer feature-rich and cost-effective communication services that offer users an experience similar to traditional telephone services.
Our Residential Premium Unlimited and Small Business Unlimited calling plans offer consumers unlimited local and long distance calling, and popular features like call waiting, call forwarding and voicemail -- for one low, flat monthly rate. Vonage's service is sold on the web and through national retailers including Best Buy, Circuit City, Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and Target and is available to customers in the U.S., Canada and the United Kingdom. For more information about Vonage's products and services, please visit http://www.vonage.com/.
Vonage Holdings Corp. is headquartered in Holmdel, New Jersey. Vonage(R) is a registered trademark of Vonage Marketing Inc., a subsidiary of Vonage Holdings Corp.
About 511
In July of 2000, the FCC designated the 511 dialing code for use by Advanced Traveler Information Services. This designation provided a single, easy to remember number that would supplant the more than 300 traveler information numbers across the country.
The authority for the use of the code rests with the state and local transportation agencies providing the service in each of the implementing areas. With the FCC assignment, these agencies were given the authority to request the local telephone exchange carriers (LECs) and wireless carriers to translate the 511 code to a terminating number that corresponded to their regional or statewide traveler information system. Vonage has now become the first VoIP provider to join with traditional wireline and wireless carriers in offering these 511 translations.
Coordination of this effort is under the guidance of the 511 Deployment Coalition, a coalition of state and regional transportation agencies and other organizations involved in providing Advanced Traveler Information Services (ATIS) information through use of the 511 dialing code. More information on the 511 Deployment Coalition can be found at: http://www.deploy511.org/. Information on 511 dialing and VoIP is available from Eli Sherer -- Lead Consultant, Voice and Telecommunications Services, PBS&J at elisherer@pbsj.com -- 203-421-7915.