Deutsche Telekom: Assistance number “11833” will be discontinued

Children and adults of the 80s and 90s will certainly remember the telephone number 11833. This memorable combination of numbers was used to reach Deutsche Telekom’s directory assistance service. This year, this piece of German telephone history is to come to an abrupt end. Deutsche Telekom wants to discontinue the service.

Cost-covering operation no longer possible

Anyone looking for a suitable telephone number today turns to the Internet. Things used to be different. You could call 11833 to find out all kinds of information. Regardless of whether it was a telephone number or address – the information desk always had an answer ready. Deutsche Telekom’s service has also moved with the times.

In the Internet age, websites and e-mail addresses could also be requested. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg. Or did you know that you can set up a wake-up service via 11833? Despite all the helpful usage options, the information service will soon be discontinued. The reason given by Telekom is that the service is simply no longer cost-covering.

Anyone who uses directory assistance pays 1.99 euros per minute for a call. This is of course anything but cheap, especially for time-consuming requests. However, the money collected does not seem to be enough, which is of course largely due to the slump in demand. The information center currently records just under 2 million inquiries a year. In 1995 there were still 550 million.

Deutsche Telekom sees service as outdated

There are simple reasons for the steady decline in demand. Thomas Zähringer from Deutsche Telekom says that “the service has fallen out of time”. With the end of the service on December 1, 2024, Deutsche Telekom is also securing substantial annual savings. Finally, the cooperation with the call center service provider currently commissioned by the telecommunications company will also end.

The savings will then be put to good use. Telekom says that it intends to invest the savings in the expansion and development of its own infrastructure. In particular, the focus will be on the expansion of fiber optics. Furthermore, digital services are also to receive a cash injection. Perhaps the information service will get a digital counterpart? We shall see.