by Peter Tannenwald, Fletcher Heald & Hildreth, August 5, 2013
| Toll-free phone numbers using the next area code in the 800 series | will be up for grabs starting this December.
| A new toll-free area code is about to become available. Put your | hands together for 844, which is set to join the ranks of 888, | 877, 866, and 855, and, of course, the venerable 800. 844 will be | the sixth toll-free code. Two more are on deck for future use - | 833 and 822. Note: 811 is not a toll-free area code; rather, that | has been reserved for the "Dig Safe" (formerly known as "Miss | Utility") three-digit dialing code used to notify the appropriate | folks of planned excavation that might disrupt underground pipes | or wires.
Continued:
Well, "Dig Safe" may have been "Miss Utility" where Peter Tannenwald lived, but it was identified by many different names around the USA. In Wisconsin, it was "Diggers Hotline." In Illinois, it was "JULIE" (Joint Utility Locating Information for Excavators). In Michigan, it was "Miss Dig" (although Mr. Dig sometimes answered). In Utah, it was Blue Stakes (and apparently still is). And probably others that I've forgotten.
Neal McLain