Local Phone Dialing Change

[scrabbler1]

I happen to live within an area code where local call dialing within the area code requires only the 7 digits of the phone number. No area code required.

But today I got an email from my phone service provider telling me that starting late next month I will have to dial 1+ the 10 digits for local calls. That is, I will have to dial 1+area code+7-digit phone number for calls within my area code.

This will cause a minor headache because my land line's speed dialing has only the 7-digits for local calls. For my cell phone, I will have to add the "1" to the local phone numbers.

Do any of you live in area codes which did not require 10-digit dialing but will soon have it in place?

 

[Gumby]

I happen to live within an area code where local call dialing within the area code requires only the 7 digits of the phone number. No area code required.

But today I got an email from my phone service provider telling me that starting late next month I will have to dial 10 digits for local calls. That is, I will have to dial 1+area code+7-digit phone number for calls within my area code.

This will cause a minor headache because my land line's speed dialing has only the 7-digits for local calls. For my cell phone, I will have to add the "1" to the local phone numbers.

Do any of you live in area codes which did not require 10-digit dialing but will soon have it in place?

Just FYI, 1+ 3 digit area code+7 digit phone number = 11 digits, not 10. Around here, the way it works is that anything that was a local call before the change now requires 10 digits = area code + phone number. Anything that was already long distance requires 11 digits = 1 + area code + telephone number. I still have rotary dial phones, so ordering pizza is a chore.

 

[Cricky]

For my cell phone, I will have to add the "1" to the local phone numbers.

You won’t need to do this; cell phone networks only require 10 numbers.

 

[CRLLS]

I happen to live within an area code where local call dialing within the area code requires only the 7 digits of the phone number. No area code required.

But today I got an email from my phone service provider telling me that starting late next month I will have to dial 10 digits for local calls. That is, I will have to dial 1+area code+7-digit phone number for calls within my area code.

This will cause a minor headache because my land line's speed dialing has only the 7-digits for local calls. For my cell phone, I will have to add the "1" to the local phone numbers.

Do any of you live in area codes which did not require 10-digit dialing but will soon have it in place?

Interesting. My home phone went to needing 1-area code-phone number a few years back. My cell never needed the "1" dialed. Unless of course I was out of country. There I needed to tell the local cell/phone company I wanted to call the USA.

 

[JT90505]

We went through the change a long time ago, don't even remember when.

Initially it was a minor pain. Frankly I don't even remember me or anyone else griping about it. You'll quickly get used to it. (we don't need the '1' when making calls from cell phones, none of my contacts include it)

 

[braumeister]

We live right on the border between two area codes, so it has long been normal for us to use the whole number. It will be official soon that we have to use the area code for local numbers, but we have been doing it anyway so no difference.

We make 100% of our outgoing calls on our cell phones, so the "1" prefix is not an issue.

 

[scrabbler1]

Good to know I don't have to add the "1" to my local contacts in the cell phone. I had added the local area code to my local contacts a few years ago when I realized incoming calls from those locals weren't being identified because the area code was being shown on the callerID.

 

[Aerides]

Do any of you live in area codes which did not require 10-digit dialing but will soon have it in place?

I think my area converted in the 90's? It's been a very long time. We never use a 1 for local calls, land or cell, but always use the area code.

 

[euro]

Yes, same here - switch happened a long time ago. You may be one of the last ones to make the transition. With the arrival of cellphones, more and more, area codes are just becoming a generic part of the number.

 

[Gumby]

Here in Connecticut, we changed the dialing process in 2009, when two new area codes were established over our two existing ones.

Interestingly, we only had a single area code in the state (203) until 1995.

 

[GalaxyBoy]

When I lived in Atlanta the change came in the mid- to late-90s with the addition of an overlay area code, meaning one geographic area had multiple area codes. We didn't have to dial the "1" though. My only problem was that with the addition of area code 678 I started getting wrong numbers at the office where my extension was also 678, and people would sometimes forget to dial "9" for an outside line.

I never got out of the habit of saying all ten digits of my phone number when asked, but it seems to confuse the locals in the much smaller city where I live now. But since a lot of people keep their old cell phone numbers when moving you can't assume their area code is the same as the local area. My brother, for instance, still has his Seattle area code even though he moved back home to Virginia several years ago.

 

[EastWest Gal]

Interesting. My home phone went to needing 1-area code-phone number a few years back. My cell never needed the "1" dialed. Unless of course I was out of country. There I needed to tell the local cell/phone company I wanted to call the USA.

Same here.

 

[ERD50]

You can probably program one of the speed dials for the 1+AAA, then use the rest of the speed dials for the local #, so press 2 speed dials to complete the sequence.

I've had VOIP for so long, and they include a "dial map" or something, so I can program things like this. Was able to set up my MIL so she could dial within her assisted living place with just the 4 digits, for anyone within her exchange. The dial map was set to wait a couple seconds to see if any more digits were entered, and then preface those 4 digits with the 1+AAA+EEE.

AAA= Area code; EEE = local 3 digit exchange

-ERD50

 

[scrabbler1]

Here in Connecticut, we changed the dialing process in 2009, when two new area codes were established over our two existing ones.

Interestingly, we only had a single area code in the state (203) until 1995.

This reminds me of something which happened back in the mid-1980s. I was out of town in Hartford, CT, and I tried to use a pay phone to call someone in the Bridgeport area. CT had its one area code back then (203, as you mentioned) so I dialed the 7 digits, only to get a recording that my call could not go through. After several failed attempts, I called the operator who told me I had to dial "1" then the 7 digits (no area code) because it was considered a long-distance call. I had never heard of such a thing, including in my own area code (516) which at the time covered all of Long Island, from Elmont (and Glen Head) to Montauk, a pretty long distance.

 

[ncbill]

Sure you need the 1 plus 10 digits?

Still on an analog landline?

Here it's only 10 digit dialing, at least when dialing from my cell phone or over VOIP via my cable provider's telephone modem.

 

[scrabbler1]

Sure you need the 1 plus 10 digits?

Still on an analog landline?

Here it's only 10 digit dialing, at least when dialing from my cell phone or over VOIP via my cable provider's telephone modem.

Oh my, you're right! I don't need the "1" when dialing within my own area code, just the area code plus 7-digit phone number. Thanks for nudging me to take a second look at it, ncbill! BTW I have VOIP through my cable provider's phone modem, which also nudged me to take the second look.

 

[Irishgirlyc58]

I have my landline through Comcast and received notification that calling locally will require 10 digits beginning sometime in October.
I fooled them though. I don’t use that number for anything other than the price break they give me for having a bundled package.
About once a month I check online for any legitimate voicemails.

 

[ERD50]

Oh my, you're right! I don't need the "1" when dialing within my own area code, just the area code plus 7-digit phone number. Thanks for nudging me to take a second look at it, ncbill! BTW I have VOIP through my cable provider's phone modem, which also nudged me to take the second look.

Well, if it is VOIP, you may be able to program as I mentioned earlier. I set mine so that if I dialed 7 digits, after a pause of X seconds, it would start dialing and automatically add the Area code as a prefix.

-ERD50

 

[rk911]

...Do any of you live in area codes which did not require 10-digit dialing but will soon have it in place?

yup. we've had it for years and it's no big deal. our landline phones (they were copper AT&T and now VoIP via Comcast) are old and they take 10-digit phone numbers in memory the '1' is automatic and does not need to be programmed). Lots and lots of really inexpensive home phones with lots of features. replace those phones and move on.

 

[GalaxyBoy]

…I had to dial "1" then the 7 digits (no area code) because it was considered a long-distance call.

That used to be standard back when area codes covered entire states.

 

[scrabbler1]

That used to be standard back when area codes covered entire states.

Was this also true for area codes which covered large swaths of rural territory within a state, but not the whole state?

 

[kcowan]

Back in the olden days, we lived in a rural area that provided free dialing to the city but had to pulse a 5 then the 7-digit number which could be toned. So the phones had to be programmed to pulse 5 then pause, switch to tone and complete. If we just dialed a 1, it would complete but charge LD. 95% of our calls were to the city.

 

[grasshopper]

Living in Arizona with New Mexico 3 miles east, our little coop gave AZ 558 and NM 557 no area code needed. Until now......... makes more sense to give up the landline.

 

[Walt34]

Where we used to live in the D.C. area they went through that change I think in the 1980's, and in 2002 when we moved to WV it was back to 7 digits for local calls. Yay! Trouble was, other than maybe ordering pizza, we never called a local number since everyone we knew was LD. But it didn't last long until the requirement for 10 digits chased us out here too. Bummer.

A few months after we moved to WV, Verizon (then the provider) offered an unlimited LD deal for the continental U.S. for something like $60/month, and I jumped on that because everyone DW called was LD. The phone bill for the first month after we moved was a sight to behold!

 

[Major Tom]

This comment isn't directly relevant to the subject being discussed, but it reminded me of how we made phone calls to other areas in the UK in the 70's. There were no standard area codes. The code you dialed in order to reach a certain exchange varied, depending on where you were calling from. A phone number was specified by the name of the local telephone exchange and then the number. For instance, if I was on the Bromsgrove exchange, and my number was 4539, then my phone number was given to others as "Bromsgrove 4539." Anyone who wanted to call me who was on a different exchange, would have to consult their printed booklet of dialing codes. Let's say that I was on the Worcester exchange, and the dialing code for Bromsgrove (from Worcester) was 787. To reach Bromsgrove 4539, I would have to dial 787 4539. However, if I was on, say, the Kidderminster exchange, the dialing code (known as the STD code) was very possibly different. All quite complicated, but a bit more efficient than the days when, to call outside your local area, you called the operator, who connected your call.

And to think I now have a little computer in my hand, that performs all sorts of advanced computing functions, takes photos, and can even, if I really want, make phone calls. Stunning