The information business is booming, with local cellular companies vying to offer subscribers a number of (predominantly) safety-oriented services.
All the numbers start with an asterisk (the + key)-which the carriers call the “star” key.
Donna Morrison, director of corporate communications for Cellular One-Chicago in Schaumburg, said that the most popular services her company runs keep callers safe.
“Our most popular service, so far, is +123, which offers live traffic reports and directions. Live operators answer the call, and you ask them for advice. They get it from a database collected from planes, cars and the Illinois Department of Transportation.”
Callers also can ask how long it will take to get to their destination, she said.
Another popular Cellular-One service, +4cast, offers local weather reports.
Jim Scarlata, assistant director for product management for Ameritech Mobile Inc. in Hoffman Estates, said that his company offers the Smart Call at +123, which gives news, local weather and stock quotes.
(Cellular companies in the same area, unlike the regular telephone system, can use the same phone numbers.)
Scarlata noted that Ameritech has been cautious about expanding the service-live traffic reports recently were added-because vehicle safety is a prime concern.
“We’re concerned about the intrusiveness and safety aspects-that would stop us” from offering some entertainment services, he said.
Cellular One-Chicago and Ameritech Mobile also offer free calling services linked to highway-policing agencies.
In Illinois, you can dial +999 from any cellular phone to report expressway emergencies or get a tow truck. A similar service is available on the Indiana Toll Road (Interstate Highway 80/90)by dialing +11; in Wisconsin, cellular users dial +911.
Cellular information services are priced just like any other call: less than 50 cents per minute (depending on your calling plan). Calls to emergency numbers are free.
Not all the beneficiaries of these service lines have cellular phones, Morrison said. “We’re finding cellular samaritans, who see people on the road who are stopped and call in to report,” she noted.
As for how many services could be created using asterisk codes, Scarlata said that “there is no current constraint” and the companies could go to more four- or five-digit numbers. He added that some codes are reserved-some for public safety agencies, some to activate phone features.
