News

Verizon on board with effort to roll out 2-1-1 service

Portland Business Journal - September 29, 2006

by Aliza Earnshaw

Business Journal staff writer

 After two years of negotiation, 2-1-1 Info finally has a service contract with Verizon Communications Inc.

The nonprofit organization, part of a nationwide movement, provides people in the Portland-Vancouver area with an easily remembered, three-digit number to call for help with rent and heat assistance, emergency food and medical needs, and other social services.

The goal of United Way and the Alliance of Information and Referral Systems, the main backers of 2-1-1, is to provide a single number for social services, just as 9-1-1 is the national standard for emergency calls.

Launched in May 2004, Oregon's 2-1-1 service negotiated with Qwest Communications International Inc. and other, smaller telecom companies around the state to make the service available to customers.

By the end of last year, the service was available in Multnomah and Clackamas counties, but not in Washington or Clark counties, where Verizon provides the bulk of residential phone service.

The other telcos were fairly quick to make agreements with 2-1-1, providing connection service at favorable rates. Qwest, by far the largest residential telco in Oregon, connected 2-1-1 across the entire state for $2,700 -- a very good price for 2-1-1 Info, which still cannot afford enough staff to serve all of Oregon.

Verizon, however, said it needed to charge much more, as service on its so-called "advanced intelligent network" is more costly to deliver than service on the Qwest network. Complicating matters further, Oregon law prevents telecom companies from selling their services below cost.

After a good deal of wrangling, Verizon finally arrived at a price "close" to the Qwest rate, said Phil Nyegaard, administrator of the Oregon Public Utilities Commission's telecom division.

"They saw the wisdom of not taking a hard line on price fairly quickly," Nyegaard said. "But it took a long time to get the right information" to set a rate that would comply with Oregon law.

Now, 2-1-1 is available in Washington, Multnomah and Clackamas counties, as well as Clark County in Southwest Washington.

The service is not around the clock, however. This year's budget for 2-1-1 is $1.1 million. It would cost $2 million to run 24 hours per day, seven days per week, in the 10 counties that comprise northwest Oregon and Southwest Washington.

To run statewide around the clock would cost $3.6 million per year, or approximately $1 per Oregon resident.

United Way is the biggest funder of 2-1-1 service, both in Oregon and around much of the country. As of this month, the service reaches more than 62 percent of the U.S. population.

aearnshaw@bizjournals.com | 503-219-3433