Are Area Codes Still Relevant?

[Pat Logsdon]

<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://techdirt.com/articles/20040907/0039229.shtml' target='_blank'>http://techdirt.com/articles/200409...7/0039229.shtml</a><br /><br /></div><i>"Do area codes really matter any more? These days, I've gotten used to plenty of people I know having mobile phone numbers from some distant place where they used to live, rather than where they live now. With so many plans no longer having any real marginal costs for long distance calls, it hasn't much mattered, other than as a status symbol. The same is starting to come true in the VoIP world, as well, as people are even purposely ordering VoIP phone numbers from locations that don't represent where they live. It almost seems like the only purpose for area codes these days is for status symbol purchases (note, for example, the distress of many when they discovered you couldn't get Manhattan's high-rent 212 as a mobile number but had to settle for something hideous like 917)."</i><br /><br />According to the article, several countries have already assigned area codes for "non-geographic" numbers, including the UK and Japan. With people becoming more mobile, cell phones more numerous than cockroaches, and VoIP on the horizon, is it time to stop messing around with area codes?

[ignar]

Yeah, I prefer 212 to 917 or 646. 212 is hard to get these days, and I was surprised when I activated my T-Mobile prepaid plan, they let me choose 212 area code. :D

Area code is still relevant though as long as telco charges higher rates for long distance calls from landline. (Does it really cost more to connect long distance calls or are they charging more just because they can?) I recently moved, and added a virtual number to my Vonage phone so that my friends can call me at local rate.

[RobertCF]

Ridiculous Topic of the Day check: An area code as a "status symbol"? How stupid is that? And who on earth attempts to get a specific area code? Who CARES what someone's area code is? It was never important to begin with, other than the fact that you couldn't dial a long distance number without knowing what it was. Good grief, now people throw money into cell phones and whine because they got an area code with koodies? Sheesh, how unbelievable superficial our society has become.

I'm happier every day that I've never gotten a cellphone. They cost too much money, for too little coverage, too much maintenance, and too much insanity attached to owning one. When will this world finally implode under the weight of all this?

[Jon Westfall]

Although it didn't matter, it was kinda cool when T-Mobile let me choose the last 4 digits of my phone number back in dec. 2002. I don't think they do that anymore. I chose 9111 - because people constantly call me when they're in trouble - technology wise or not!

Anyone else get to choose their digits at all?

[Wiggster]

I live in Dallas, so I see area codes all the time: a few years ago ('96, I believe), we switched from 7-digit dialing to 10-digit dialing standard. So now instead of dialing 889-9890 to dial Blockbuster, I have to dial 972-889-98980, even though they're a block away. We've got 972, 469, and 214 as standard area codes, regardless of where the phone line is located. When 469 was introduced, it was mainly for mobile phones, and they asked what number you wanted (I got a special number from T-Mobile a few years ago). When I switched to Cingular/SBC recently, they didn't even ASK if I wanted a number of any sort. I'm not sure if they still let you choose at all, but I imagine if you asked, they'd work with you.

Speaking of which, how many of you dial 7-digits for local calls, and how many of you have to dial all 10-digits like me?

[drowe]

Area codes are only relevent for the 2 minutes it takes to enter into my dialing directory :lol: . Some people just have way too much to worry about :roll:

[CrashX]

Seven digit dialing for us (Rhode Island), though we're probably one of the few states that pays long distance fees for calling certain areas within the same area code :roll: (the entire state is 401).

[Wiggster]

Seven digit dialing for us (Rhode Island), though we're probably one of the few states that pays long distance fees for calling certain areas within the same area code :roll: (the entire state is 401).

No, it just depends on how large the area code is. In everywhere else I've lived, the area code sometimes stretched over a hundred miles, and the far reaches were often long distance. Area codes haven't meant that calls were guaranteed local anytime that I can remember.

[mvv_hyd]

Ridiculous Topic of the Day check: An area code as a "status symbol"? How stupid is that? And who on earth attempts to get a specific area code? Who CARES what someone's area code is? It was never important to begin with, other than the fact that you couldn't dial a long distance number without knowing what it was. Good grief, now people throw money into cell phones and whine because they got an area code with koodies? Sheesh, how unbelievable superficial our society has become.

I'm happier every day that I've never gotten a cellphone. They cost too much money, for too little coverage, too much maintenance, and too much insanity attached to owning one. When will this world finally implode under the weight of all this?
it's not stupid..... I've known people who don't stay in NY or bay area but have billing address from there to get a phone number from these areas...

[dean_shan]

I like area codes. It lets me know if the person is in dtste or not. If it's 907, it's Alaska.

[jmulder]

Although I haven't signed up for Vonage yet (ironically, they don't have my area code available), I've considered it as a means of getting numbers in area codes where I might want to relocate. For instance, I am much more likely to get a call from an Orlando, FL company if I have a 407 area code. It may be a little underhanded, but it may also put me on equal footing with a local candidate.

[applejosh]

Area codes are becoming increasingly insignificant, I agree. But as Ignar stated, until the telco industry is revamped to get rid of long distance altogether, they will remain an antiquated fixture. While I don't really care what area code I have, I kind of like the thought of having a single number over the course of several moves, even a different state if applicable.

[surur]

You forgot to add to the title -

Americans- Are area codes still relevant?

In all the other countries I have been, where the caller pays, mobile phones area codes are not geographic, but in the past indicated which network you were on (now less so due to number portability), so a caller would know he was dialing a mobile phone and would be charged more.

A very sane way of doing it.

Also all calls to mobile phones were automatically non-geographic, i.e. there was no "local calls" with mobile phones, a call to next door or the other side of the country would cost the same.

As I said, a very sane way of doing it, I'm glad to see USA is catching up.

Surur

[PetiteFlower]

Area codes are needed in the sense that there aren't enough 7 digit numbers in existence to cover all of the phone numbers this country needs. What IS obsolete, thanks to cell phones, is long distance charges. Phone companies need to get over themselves and stop charging for what mobile providers give us for free. I don't think land lines will ever TOTALLY disappear but they are going to get used less and less and for long distance hardly at all. Why would you use a land line for long distance when your cell phone is free? More and more people, especially people my age(20s) are ditching the land line altogether--with broadband internet, who needs the extra expense? My cell phone gives me more features and services for less money then the land line. Caller ID? Free. Voice mail? Free. Call waiting? Free. Long distance? Free. Many plans don't even have roaming anymore. Also services that I don't even use like call forwarding, 3 way, no answer/busy auto forwarding, are all free and included in a basic plan. Minutes are cheap and you pay for what you need; with unlimited nights and weekends it's easy to find a plan that's reasonably priced for what you need. Plus the 2 added bonuses--one, that it's always with me so I don't miss important calls, and two, I can turn it off so it doesn't interrupt my beauty sleep, or any other more important activities :)

With all that I find it very difficult to understand why anyone would get a land line and refuse to get a cell phone. I can understand a land line if you have a family. But even then, a cell phone is even MORE important--what if there's an emergency and your loved ones need to reach you right away?

The longer I've had my phone the harder I've found it to believe that I ever lived without it.

[Jason Lee]

Area codes are needed in the sense that there aren't enough 7 digit numbers in existence to cover all of the phone numbers this country needs. What IS obsolete, thanks to cell phones, is long distance charges. Phone companies need to get over themselves and stop charging for what mobile providers give us for free. I don't think land lines will ever TOTALLY disappear but they are going to get used less and less and for long distance hardly at all. Why would you use a land line for long distance when your cell phone is free? More and more people, especially people my age(20s) are ditching the land line altogether--with broadband internet, who needs the extra expense? My cell phone gives me more features and services for less money then the land line. Caller ID? Free. Voice mail? Free. Call waiting? Free. Long distance? Free. Many plans don't even have roaming anymore. Also services that I don't even use like call forwarding, 3 way, no answer/busy auto forwarding, are all free and included in a basic plan. Minutes are cheap and you pay for what you need; with unlimited nights and weekends it's easy to find a plan that's reasonably priced for what you need. Plus the 2 added bonuses--one, that it's always with me so I don't miss important calls, and two, I can turn it off so it doesn't interrupt my beauty sleep, or any other more important activities :)

With all that I find it very difficult to understand why anyone would get a land line and refuse to get a cell phone. I can understand a land line if you have a family. But even then, a cell phone is even MORE important--what if there's an emergency and your loved ones need to reach you right away?

The longer I've had my phone the harder I've found it to believe that I ever lived without it.

My thoughts ExActlY!
I only have a mobile phone. No landline at all. I have been very tempted to try the VOIP stuff like Vonage just for the heck of it and I think VOIP will probably replace wireless and landline in the future.

[burtman007]

What IS obsolete, thanks to cell phones, is long distance charges. Phone companies need to get over themselves and stop charging for what mobile providers give us for free.

Your long distance isn't free because you chose a mobile phone. You pay for it, whether you realize it or not. It may be rolled up all nice and sweet into your monthly plan, but your cell provider is paying the long distance carriers to use their networks and in turn passing the charge to you...

The cell providers are banking on the average user not using all of his/her allotted mintues and therefore profiting since those minutes are not hitting a long distance carrier, that they've worked out deals to get 1 to 1.5 cents per minute on.

It's clever and quite devious. :devilboy:

[lmtuxinc]

Your long distance isn't free because you chose a mobile phone. You pay for it, whether you realize it or not. It may be rolled up all nice and sweet into your monthly plan, but your cell provider is paying the long distance carriers to use their networks and in turn passing the charge to you...


unless your cell phone provider is originally a long distance provider, like Sprint, then they arent paying anybody else.

[Kati Compton]

I moved from a 10-digit dialing locale to a 7-digit dialing locale. It's very frustrating because I still give my phone # with all 10 digits, and locals get impatient ("We know THAT part...") and think I'm nuts.

Someday (far far in the future) this area will go to 10-digit dialing too, and THEN they'll be sorry!

:P

[baralong]

You forgot to add to the title -

Americans- Are area codes still relevant?

In all the other countries I have been, where the caller pays, mobile phones area codes are not geographic, but in the past indicated which network you were on (now less so due to number portability), so a caller would know he was dialing a mobile phone and would be charged more.

A very sane way of doing it.

Also all calls to mobile phones were automatically non-geographic, i.e. there was no "local calls" with mobile phones, a call to next door or the other side of the country would cost the same.

As I said, a very sane way of doing it, I'm glad to see USA is catching up.

Surur

I've always found it quite bizar the the recipient pays in the US (I'm in Australia) but finding out that the cell phone number is bound to an area code explains it a bit. Quite mad really. Here in Australia (one digit area code and 8 digit number) the "area code" for all modiles is 4 the next 2 give the carrier that originally gave the number out (as indicated above)

Given that all of western australia (the stae where I live) is the same area code, I've never worried about that, although I'll admit I thout it was cool that my old data line was an 8 digit prime (the fact that I cared marks me as a number geek, the fact that I actually checked it is just sad :oops: )

[SassKwatch]

More and more people, especially people my age(20s) are ditching the land line altogether--with broadband internet, who needs the extra expense?
I'm considerably older than you and would drop the landline in a heartbeat were it not for the DSL. I *could* drop the DSL and get cable broadband, but the cable tv reception in this neighborhood just absolutely sucks...ergo the DirecTV and DSL.

Seems I've heard somewhere one of the BabyBells was considering allowing people to drop the landline, but keep the line for the DSL. I only *wish* my local provider would offer that possibility.

[dh]

More and more people, especially people my age(20s) are ditching the land line altogether--with broadband internet, who needs the extra expense?
Hey c'mon young lady. I'm twice your age and have not had a landline phone for ages.

The final straw was when Verizon sent me a bill for about $90.00 and I had only made a couple of calls.

Now we have three lines with Sprint, 2500 minutes, unlimited nights/weekend/pcs2pcs and use chitchat for international calls.

It just works great and I look forward to the day when wireless internet lets me boot Comcast as well..

[SofaTater]

I'm also in the Dallas metro area and have gotten used to 10-digit dialing. At one time, our home phone used area code 972, my cell phone used area code 469, and my wife's cell phone used area code 214.

I did some contract work in Oklahoma City last year and couldn't figure out why I couldn't get any of my local calls to go through until I realized that I didn't need to use the area code -- seems strange to only dial seven digits these days.

One thing I've noticed here is that the convention for printing phone numbers is changing -- many people don't put the parentheses around the area code anymore -- instead of (555) 555-1234, it's now 555-555-1234 or 555.555.1234.

[mvv_hyd]

More and more people, especially people my age(20s) are ditching the land line altogether--with broadband internet, who needs the extra expense?
Hey c'mon young lady. I'm twice your age and have not had a landline phone for ages.

The final straw was when Verizon sent me a bill for about $90.00 and I had only made a couple of calls.

Now we have three lines with Sprint, 2500 minutes, unlimited nights/weekend/pcs2pcs and use chitchat for international calls.

It just works great and I look forward to the day when wireless internet lets me boot Comcast as well..
I agree...... and I think landlines are at more risk as VoIP becomes dominant...... and most of the times you can transfer you landline number to VoIP (at least in case of Vonage)........ I'm without a landline for more than a year

[Fitch]

Anyone else get to choose their digits at all?

I got to choose my last four digits. I used phonespell.org and chose "MTCH" 'cause of my name, Mitch.



Speaking of prefixes, I can't believe how USED people are to NOT dialing 1 before an area code. On mobile phones, you don't have to. On landlines, in most cities, you do.

A manager who works in my room at my office has a NexTel phone, free incoming plan, who's number is (aaa)877-xxxx and the phone number for the local museum's membership line is a toll-free 877 number. So people always just start dialing 877-xxx-xyyy and don't realize that before the yyy, it's already begun ringing. And since it's a local museum, everyone already lives in our 'aaa' area code, so they call his cell phone! And it takes them SOOOO long to figure out what "dial one first" means.

We've stopped caring. We've contaced the museum. They tell him to change his number. So fine, we'll just screw with the people who call.

I'm recording them on my Toshiba e75. I'll post links to them once I get enough good ones if anyone's interested.

I don't understand why it's "fashionable" to write phone numbers without the 1 in front... even if it's causing problems and they know about it!

They're marketing materials always read
877.xxx.xyyy
with a dot or a SLASH or something 'trendy'
they refuse to write
1-877-xxx-xyyy

to avoid the problems. If you dial 1-877... with any mobile phone, on any US service, it'll still go to the right place!

[Mark from Canada]

In all the other countries I have been, where the caller pays, mobile phones area codes are not geographic, but in the past indicated which network you were on (now less so due to number portability), so a caller would know he was dialing a mobile phone and would be charged more.

A very sane way of doing it.


I've always found it quite bizar the the recipient pays in the US (I'm in Australia) but finding out that the cell phone number is bound to an area code explains it a bit.

I have seen both, and I actually like the way better where the recipient pays.
Why? you ask?

As the cell phone owner you can buy plans and bulk minutes at fairly cheap rates because of the competition between the carriers. You choose to have a cell phone, so you have to pay - but you can pick and choose from all the offers.
If the person calling the cell has to pay, there is no choice except you call or you don't.
And the cell company dictates the range in which the price will be. Most of the time the cell phone owner doesn't care how much the people calling him have to pay - so calling rates are quite a bit higher then without the competition.

Mark

[RobertCF]

"it's not stupid..... I've known people who don't stay in NY or bay area but have billing address from there to get a phone number from these areas..."

That doesn't explain to me why it's not stupid. It just proves there are people who DO it. The questions is: WHY? What is the point of having a phone number from there? Is that supposed to impress people, "Hey, I'm cool and special, see? I have a phone number from Manhattan". The height of superficial, that's what it is. I wouldn't recognize someone's area code if it came with a map, and it certainly wouldn't impress me if they had one from downtown Hollywood or wherever. Anyone who WOULD be impressed has got a lot of air whistling between their ears. Sad, very sad.

[lhauser]

Speaking of which, how many of you dial 7-digits for local calls, and how many of you have to dial all 10-digits like me?

In Seattle, it's actually optional. They were going to force 10-digit a few years ago, but with the dot-com bust the need dried up. By that point we were already in the "transitionary" period, where you could dial 10 digit but didn't have to. We went from one area code to four area codes in Western Washington, some portions of which are not local long distance from the Seattle-area 206, but within each of those area codes you can dial 7 digit or 10 digit.

Lee

[lhauser]

"it's not stupid..... I've known people who don't stay in NY or bay area but have billing address from there to get a phone number from these areas..."

That doesn't explain to me why it's not stupid. It just proves there are people who DO it. The questions is: WHY? What is the point of having a phone number from there? Is that supposed to impress people, "Hey, I'm cool and special, see? I have a phone number from Manhattan". The height of superficial, that's what it is. I wouldn't recognize someone's area code if it came with a map, and it certainly wouldn't impress me if they had one from downtown Hollywood or wherever. Anyone who WOULD be impressed has got a lot of air whistling between their ears. Sad, very sad.

What about someone who has a lot of customers or contacts in that area code, but they choose to live in the North Woods or Arizona or something. Having the 212 area code is a great benefit for those people who call regularly from that area code.

[drowe]

would drop the landline in a heartbeat were it not for the DSL. I *could* drop the DSL and get cable broadband, but the cable tv reception in this neighborhood just absolutely sucks...ergo the DirecTV and DSL.

I was considering the same kind of thing, but going with VOIP from my cable modem...... Then I asked about modem service for my DirecTV, Tivo, and Ultimate TV. The answer was "probably won't work". As long as I have those, I'm stuck with paying for a phone I never use :roll:

[PetiteFlower]

Your long distance isn't free because you chose a mobile phone. You pay for it, whether you realize it or not. It may be rolled up all nice and sweet into your monthly plan, but your cell provider is paying the long distance carriers to use their networks and in turn passing the charge to you...

That's not my understanding at ALL. Cell carriers don't use the same lines/networks as landlines. Landlines operate on fiber optic cables, cell phones operate on a wireless radio frequency. Cell phone carriers have deals with each other to use each other's wireless networks and that's where you get roaming charges in most plans--if your own carrier's towers don't cover a particular area and they need to "rent" service from someone else's towers.

And it's free in the sense that in most cell phone plans out there it costs exactly the same to call across the country as it does across the room. Uses up minutes the same way if it's during the day, or if it's part of unlimited nights/weekends/in network calling, it doesn't even cost minutes. This makes sense because it doesn't cost the provider any more to send the signal further.

I still believe that if compare a $40 plan for a landline and a $40 plan for a cell phone you will get more features for your money with the cell phone.

[Rob Alexander]

Your long distance isn't free because you chose a mobile phone. You pay for it, whether you realize it or not. It may be rolled up all nice and sweet into your monthly plan, but your cell provider is paying the long distance carriers to use their networks and in turn passing the charge to you...

That's not my understanding at ALL. Cell carriers don't use the same lines/networks as landlines. Landlines operate on fiber optic cables, cell phones operate on a wireless radio frequency. Cell phone carriers have deals with each other to use each other's wireless networks and that's where you get roaming charges in most plans--if your own carrier's towers don't cover a particular area and they need to "rent" service from someone else's towers.

Have you never called a landline from your cell phone? It's not magic that gets your call into the land-based phone system. Once your signal reaches the cell tower, it is carried by cell-owned cable to a local switching station. From there, any number of routes may be taken to complete your call. Some of them will be owned by one or another cell company and some will be owned by regular phone companies. And, of course, many companies are both cell and land phone companies.

Ultimately, if you're going to call someone's land line, you're using their phone company's wires. When one company uses another company's wire, whether big fiber traveling great distances or copper running down the street, they pay for it. All of the various companies have agreements about how it all works and the cost of that is rolled into your cell phone bill, just as the same costs are rolled into someone else's land line bill.

Whether you're getting a better deal with one type of phone or the other probably depends on the companies and your location. I pay a few dollars less for my land line than for my cell phone each month. The land line flat fee includes unlimited long distance anywhere in North America, call waiting, call forwarding, etc. while my cell phone gives me 700 minutes a month of calling anywhere with the same services. (I never use the 700, so it's effectively unlimited as well.) I'd be hard put to conclude that one was a dramatically better deal than the other; each has its benefits.

[simon.brown]

Here is Australia all mobile phone numbers are 04XX area code.
Fixed line number area codes are by state (02 = NSW, 03 = VIC, 07 = QLD etc) with all phone numbers 8 digits long.
You used to be able to tell which mobile carrier by the last 2 digits of the mobile area code, but now with full number portability, this is no longer possible.
This also means you can tell by the callerid if the person is calling from a fixed line or a mobile phone.

[Steven Cedrone]

I can remember when pagers started to get popular (for those that don't remember: little device that people could call and send you their number for call back) we started to run out of numbers in the local area code. With cell phones the problem spiraled out of control. I remember thinking at the time: why not just give mobile devices their own area code? Then if that ran out of numbers, just give them another? Why force landline users to change area codes 3 times in 5 years? I really think the mess we have now is the result of poor planning and a lack of forward thinking/vision on the part of all of the companies involved...

Steve

[Sheena]

I guess by now we're used to a million area codes in NY, but I am annoyed by a few things:

The codes don't have meaning anymore. Not regional, not phone type, nothing. In some cases it might be nice to be able to "hide" where you are calling from, but some of us used to easily identify the type of call by the caller ID display. I couldn't care less what # I had to use (yes, Manhattanites are nuts over their 212 :roll: ), but it was nice not to have to give the area code (or write it down) if the location was known.

Some phones (like my cordless) will allow you to return a call to a caller ID # by just clicking on it, adding the "1" if it was a different area code than your own, but they don't allow the entry of more digits & local calls can no longer be returned with one click. So far I haven't found a single phone that fixes that, even though the local 10-digit dialing is more & more widespread.

We lazy humans like to abbreviate whenever it's possible or can be pushed. Even for non-local #'s I never bothered entering area codes on my phonebook. Not if I had an address anyway. These days not only I had to revise all my contacts & make sure they were properly set up, but I had to call quite a few people to make sure their codes hadn't changed.

Not too big a deal I guess, just annoying. In 20 or 30 more years, we'll all have embedded chips on our heads & the #'s will be 20 alpha-numeric characters with a picture. Can't wait. :wink:

Rosie

[Kati Compton]

In Seattle, it's actually optional. They were going to force 10-digit a few years ago, but with the dot-com bust the need dried up. By that point we were already in the "transitionary" period, where you could dial 10 digit but didn't have to. We went from one area code to four area codes in Western Washington, some portions of which are not local long distance from the Seattle-area 206, but within each of those area codes you can dial 7 digit or 10 digit.
I was in Seattle and HAD to do 10-digit dialing (this was a couple years ago), because it didn't work otherwise. I also got very confused by the fact that I *couldn't* dial 1 first before the 10 digits. In the Chicago area, I always would dial 1 first before the other 10-digits.

[PetiteFlower]

I remember thinking at the time: why not just give mobile devices their own area code?

Well they have done that in a lot of the more populated areas, sort of anyway. In the philadelphia area the 2 landline codes are 215 and 610, and there are 2 codes for mobile devices which roughly correspond to the other 2, 267 and 484. But there are some numbers in 215 and 610 which are designated to cell phones. However as far as I know there are no land lines under 267 or 484, those are ONLY for cells, pagers, and maybe faxes too.

Honestly I hadn't thought about what goes on when you call a landline from a cell though. Probably because I almost never do this anymore, and when I do 99% of the time it's a business. Nearly everyone I know has a cell phone as either their only line or their main/preferred number!

[jmjstandin]

Area codes are a relic of when phones had rotating dials and it was an effort to dial each digit. I believe that in most European countries, the first few digits of mobile phone numbers indicate only that the phone is a mobile one (and possibly which operator it uses but this is no longer sure since it is supposed to be possible to move your number to another operator).
Moreover, some countries (France was first in 1996, I think), have dropped area codes for fixed phones in the sense that you simply dial all 10 digits of any French phone number from any phone, fixed or mobile, from anywhere in France.
Switzerland has now copied this (thank goodness. It was always very confusing because it was not always clear which city area code a small village would be attached to).
Going one step further, most people store all numbers in their mobile phones in full international format, e.g., +33 123456789 (which works fine and doesn't cost more if you are already in France). So you never have to think about where you are before you call.
If fixed phones everywhere caught up with this, Microsoft could simplify Outlook quite a bit!

[ctmagnus]

I wasn't too long ago that we still had four-digit dialing here! 8O

[Janak Parekh]

I remember thinking at the time: why not just give mobile devices their own area code? Then if that ran out of numbers, just give them another?
Well... not so simple. In NYC, 917 was originally dedicated for mobiles and fax numbers, but we ran out of numbers in it... but before another area code was allocated, people started using 212/718/etc.

Add the fact that, historically, the middle digit could only be 0 or 1 and you were stuck in a situation where there weren't a whole lot of area codes to give out. If anything, the FCC probably preferred reusing existing landline area codes instead of drying up the supply.

In any case, with number portability today, the whole point is moot. No amount of planning can deal with the fact that you can move your number around, except to stop calling an area code an "area code". ;)

--janak

[Janak Parekh]

(yes, Manhattanites are nuts over their 212 :roll: )
:roll: indeed. They're too hung up on it. Fortunately, it's slowly wearing out, as 646 numbers are inevitable, and free long-distance makes the need to have a 212 moot.

Now, here's the fun question: anyone remember the days when the fourth and fifth digits of a number used to refer to the local area within the area code? I still saw a few signs a few years ago that listed a number as "MA 7-xxxx". 8O

--janak