Deutsche Telekom discontinues directory enquiry service
Deutsche Telekom's directory enquiry service is being used by fewer and fewer people. It will cease operations at the end of the year.
There will hardly be any dial telephones left, and soon there will no longer be any information from Deutsche Telekom.
(Bild: Deutsche Telekom)
Directory enquiry services? Do they still exist? Some people may have asked themselves that six years ago. Demand for this service has been correspondingly low recently. Deutsche Telekom has now announced that it will be discontinued on 1 December 2024. According to Deutsche Telekom, the national directory enquiry service, which can be reached by dialling 11833, is hardly used any more. The international directory enquiry service and the wake-up service will also be discontinued.
In 1995, 550 million enquiries were received by the helpline, since then demand has fallen by 20 per cent annually. Today, the number of calls is well below 2 million, writes Telekom. This means that it can no longer offer its services to cover its costs. It intends to invest the funds saved in infrastructure such as fibre optic and mobile networks as well as in digital services.
Thinned-out team
Less than ten percent of the original call center team now work for Telekom at the directory assistance provider in Pasewalk (Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania). All other employees have been deployed in other projects over the years or have retired. The remaining team will also be deployed in other projects from December.
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"The service is outdated," says Thomas Zähringer, directory enquiries expert at Deutsche Telekom. "Digital services on mobile phones have simply overtaken directory enquiries." Well over 80 per cent of Germans now use a smartphone. In addition, notebooks, PCs and tablets provide the desired information in a matter of seconds.
"Anyone looking for a phone number will still be able to find it in the future with personal contact. But no longer with Deutsche Telekom," writes the company. Instead, those seeking information will have to dial the numbers of alternative services from December 1, 2024. And - unlike in Switzerland- there is still the printed telephone directory, in which the telephone number or address can still be viewed on request.
(anw)
