Diggers Hotline

Name

Diggers Hotline

Legal name

Diggers Hotline Inc.

Website

https://diggershotline.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1976

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Underground Utility Locating Services

akta.pro primary industry

Work Zone Incident Response & Safety Services (Emergency Access, Quick-Clear, Safety Patrols) (TLAJALAM)

Keywords

• One-call center services
• Underground utility locating
• Damage prevention services
• Excavation safety compliance
• Facility marking coordination

Headquarters

HQ city

New Berlin

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Per-Notice Fee from Member Utilities: Member facility owners pay Diggers Hotline a Per-Notice Fee for each Ticket/Locate Request received. This fee funds the one-call center operations. Wisconsin Statute 182.0175 allows Diggers Hotline to assess this fee and cease membership if payment is more than 90 days past due.
2. Free Service to Excavators: Diggers Hotline is a free service to all excavators (both professional contractors and homeowners). The service is funded entirely by membership fees from underground facility owners/utility companies.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Diggers Hotline operates Wisconsin's official 811 one-call center, processing excavation locate requests from homeowners and professional contractors and routing them to member utility companies for marking of underground facilities. The service is mandated by Wisconsin Statute 182.0175, requires a minimum of three business days advance notice before excavation, and is free to excavators while funded entirely by per-notice fees paid by the more than 1,400 member facility owners (electric, gas, telecom, water, sewer, and municipal utilities). The organization also delivers a Positive Response system for status tracking, online damage prevention training, and statewide enforcement of safe digging requirements.

Product overview

Diggers Hotline operates Wisconsin's 811 one-call center as a non-profit organization. The platform consists of three main portals: DIY Portal for homeowners, ProPortal for professional excavators requiring full functionality, and Portal-Lite for basic ticket filing. These portals connect excavators with utility owners through a ticket-based locate request system. Supporting features include Positive Response for status tracking, Ticket Search for accessing ticket information, Online Advisor for portal selection guidance, and various educational/compliance programs including damage prevention training, speaker requests, an enforcement center, and a compliance review program. The organization also provides field manual documentation and safety meeting resources.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• ProPortal: A full-featured web-browser-based system for professional excavators to file all types of locate requests, map tickets, search tickets, and view positive response information.
• Portal-Lite
• DIY Portal

Products and services

• DIY Portal Online portal that lets Wisconsin homeowners file locate requests for projects on their own property by entering basic information; Diggers Hotline staff complete mapping and identify affected facility owners. Requests are reviewed during business hours (6 a.m. to 6 p.m.) and processed same day when possible.
• ProPortal Full-featured web-browser-based system for Wisconsin professional excavators to file all ticket types (Standard, Emergency, Planning, Relocate, Cancel, Correction, Update), map job sites, receive real-time start dates and ticket numbers, search tickets, and access member lists. Requires completion of a training video and a passing test.
• Portal-Lite Browser-based tool for contractors to enter basic locate request information on Standard and Planning locate requests; Diggers Hotline staff complete the mapping and identify proper facility owners. No training or test is required.
• Ticket Search Online search tool that allows users to look up ticket information including contact details, worksite location, work type, start date/time, utilities notified, marking instructions, and ticket history.
• Online Advisor Interactive decision tool that asks users questions to determine whether they are a professional excavator or homeowner and which portal (DIY Portal, Portal-Lite, or ProPortal) best suits their needs.
• Positive Response Voluntary program in which utility locators provide field locate status information to excavators. Status (Marked-Complete, No Conflict-Complete, System Cleared-Complete, No Response, Not Marked-Response Pending, Ongoing-Working with Excavator, Not Marked-Delay, Canceled/Corrected/Updated) is viewable via online portals or delivered through automated email notices from Diggers Hotline.
• 811 Phone Service 24/7/365 phone-based intake of all types of locate requests via 811, (800) 242-8511, or the local number (262) 432-7910, staffed by trained Diggers Hotline contact center representatives.
• Online Damage Prevention Training Free online educational program for Wisconsin excavators covering utility damage prevention, broken into smaller modules and adapted for various devices.
• Enforcement Center Online portal for submitting notifications of violations of state law regarding natural gas or hazardous materials; submissions are reviewed by an enforcement panel.
• Compliance Review and Improvement Program Program addressing non-compliance with Wisconsin Statute 182.0175 and Diggers Hotline policies, including investigation, improvement plans, and corrective actions.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 50 million safe excavation projects facilitated since 1976
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers7 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Twelve partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• We EnergiescoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2026We Energies is represented on the Diggers Hotline Board of Directors. Dan Sande, Manager Gas & Electric Policy, serves as Board Chair. We Energies is a major Wisconsin utility providing electric and gas services.
• Wisconsin Public ServicecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2026Wisconsin Public Service is represented on the Diggers Hotline Board of Directors. Ted Prosser, Manager - Gas Engineering, serves as Vice Chair.
• American Transmission CompanycoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2026American Transmission Company is represented on the Diggers Hotline Board of Directors. Nedd Niedermeyer, Senior GIS Analyst, serves as Secretary.
• AT&T Services, Inc.coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2026AT&T Services is represented on the Diggers Hotline Board of Directors. Daniel J. Moreth, Senior Specialist Env/Health/Safety, serves as Treasurer.
• City of VeronacoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2026City of Verona is represented on the Diggers Hotline Board of Directors. Bryan Manning, Public Works Director, serves as a Director.
• BrightspeedcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2026Brightspeed is represented on the Diggers Hotline Board of Directors. Brad Patrick, Supervisor Region Operations, serves as a Director.
• Alliant EnergycoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2026Alliant Energy is represented on the Diggers Hotline Board of Directors. Jeff Kluge, Senior Manager Gas Compliance and Metering, serves as a Director.
• City of MilwaukeecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2026City of Milwaukee is represented on the Diggers Hotline Board of Directors. Emily Smyth, Project Programming, Estimating and Assessments, serves as a Director.
• MetronetcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2026Metronet is represented on the Diggers Hotline Board of Directors. Craig Jensen, Director of Safety & Damage Prevention, serves as a Director.
• Madison Gas and ElectriccoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2026Madison Gas and Electric is represented on the Diggers Hotline Board of Directors as an Associate Director. Chad Pool, Director, Operations Services and Support, serves as Associate Director.
• Locating Companies (Sustaining Members)minorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting Partner · 1 January 2024Sustaining member locating companies include: All Lines Utility Service, Excel Underground, E&N Hughes Company, Gabe's Construction, GLS Utility, Intercon Construction, Private Lines, and Vannguard. These companies provide private line locating services for Wisconsin property owners.
• Wisconsin Damage Prevention Council (WIDPC)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2019Multi-stakeholder council dedicated to creating and implementing practical solutions for Wisconsin damage prevention challenges through collaboration, education, and legislative review. Includes representation from utilities, excavators, government, and locators.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Others

• KorTerra: Software-as-a-service platform for one-call centers, utility locating, and damage-prevention ticket management. Indirect peer as the type of technology vendor that could augment or, with legislative change, displace Diggers Hotline's in-house system.
• Common Ground Alliance (CGA): National nonprofit stakeholder organization that sets best-practice standards (including the 811 brand) and drives nationwide damage-prevention policy. Relevant as the industry body shaping the regulatory and standards environment in which Diggers Hotline operates.

Direct peers

• JULIE Inc. Illinois's official one-call system and a directly comparable nonprofit 811 center with member-funded per-notice fees, online portals for homeowners and professionals, and statewide Positive Response tracking — the closest scaled analog to Diggers Hotline.
• Kentucky 811: Kentucky's nonprofit 811 center providing locate-request notification and Positive Response services between excavators and member utilities, with the same member-funded operating model and statewide mandate.
• Iowa One Call: Iowa's statewide 811 one-call notification system, also operating a nonprofit, member-utility-funded model that processes excavation notices and dispatches locates — directly comparable in scale, regulatory mandate, and stakeholder governance.
• Miss Dig System Inc. Michigan's nonprofit one-call center connecting excavators with underground facility owners. Operates the same statutory damage-prevention model as Diggers Hotline with member utility funding, GIS mapping, and dedicated homeowner/contractor portals.
• Dig Safely New York: New York's nonprofit one-call notification center. Comparable to Diggers Hotline as a state-level 811 franchise with online ticket portals, utility-member funding, and damage-prevention training programs.
• Missouri One Call System: Missouri's legislatively mandated one-call center for excavation notification. Comparable nonprofit, member-funded structure with homeowner DIY and professional excavator portals, paralleling Diggers Hotline's Wisconsin franchise.
• Gopher State One Call (GSOC): Minnesota's legislatively mandated 811 one-call center, processing locate requests between excavators and facility operators. Closely comparable to Diggers Hotline in mandate, member-funded model, GIS-based ticket processing, and homeowner/professional portal structure.

Broad incumbents

• USIC (US Infrastructure Corporation): Largest US private underground utility locating services provider, performing the field-marking work that flows from one-call tickets. Comparable because USIC sits downstream of Diggers Hotline's ticket volume and competes for adjacent locate work in Wisconsin.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/diggershotline

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles16 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Diggers Hotline