hpa@casbah.acns.nwu.edu (Peter Anvin) (12/03/90)
Could anyone please explain what that mystical area code 700 is, and what is so special with the exchange number 555? I know 555-1212 is the information number, but there must be something else that is special with it, or no? Is there a reason for it being used as a "foo" for phone numbers (no one takes number 555-1234 seriously, no?) Finally, does the customer pay for calls to area code 700? [Moderator's Note: 555-1212 was simply adopted as a universal number for directory assistance, and to the best of my knowledge very little else has been assigned on 555. I think one AT&T business office uses something like 555-8111, but that is about all. Other examples? Whether or not you are charged for calls to 700 numbers depends on what carriers and services are involved. 700 is sort of like 900, with various services and offerings on a carrier by carrier basis. Unlike 900 numbers which are either national or local/statewide, 700 numbers are by carrier, meaning an AT&T customer usually cannot directly access the services of other carriers on 700 numbers, etc. Telecom*USA has their Voice News Network there for *their* customers; AT&T has their Alliance Teleconferencing Service there as we discussed a couple issues ago. Does anyone have a complete (more or less) list of everything in the 700 range, listed by carrier? If so, please send it along. PAT]
scb@cs.brown.edu (Spyros C. Bartsocas) (12/04/90)
Our Moderator notes: >[Moderator's Note: 555-1212 was simply adopted as a universal number >for directory assistance, and to the best of my knowledge very little >else has been assigned on 555. I think one AT&T business office uses >something like 555-8111, but that is about all. Other examples? NET uses the 555-1611 and 555-1515 (actually 1-555-1611 and 1-555-1515) for repair service as follows: Residence 1-555-1611 Business 1-555-1515 Public (coin)1-555-1611 555-1611 is the same as 611 in other places. Also from the telephone directory 1-555-1717 is the "Public Service Center", where "business customers who have or would like to apply for public or semi-public coin telephone service", should call. "There is no charge for these calls". Spyros Bartsocas scb@cs.brown.edu
tel@cdsdb1.att.com (12/05/90)
AT&T uses 700 numbers for their ISDN service. Apparently, if you get a PRI ISDN line from AT&T for switched data (64 or 384 Kbit), you can get one or more 700 numbers assigned. I doubt you can call these 700 numbers from a regular phone, but I have never tried it. Next time I get a look at the patch panel in one of the labs, I will try calling and see what I get. When we were trying some data calls, we had to "dial" the 700 number to place the call. When I say dial, I mean the dial string that goes over then D channel has the 700 number as the destination. That's all I really know right now. I will soon be learning more about this stuff! I'll pass on anything that I learn. Tom Lowe AT&T tel@hound.ATT.COM
clements@bbn.com (12/05/90)
The Moderator asks: >Moderator's Note: 555-1212 was simply adopted as a universal number >for directory assistance, and to the best of my knowledge very little >else has been assigned on 555. I think one AT&T business office uses >something like 555-8111, but that is about all. Other examples? From the New England Tel (Boston suburbs) phone book: Repair service Residence: 1-555-1611 Business: 1-555-1515 Public(coin)1-555-1611 and If you are a business customer who has or would like to apply for public or semi-public coin telephone service, call the Public Service Center at no charge, 1-555-1717. Bob Clements, K1BC, clements@bbn.com
levin@bbn.com (Joel B. Levin) (12/05/90)
>From: Peter Anvin <hpa@casbah.acns.nwu.edu> >[Moderator's Note: 555-1212 was simply adopted as a universal number... >I think one AT&T business office uses >something like 555-8111, but that is about all. Other examples? This varies by local telco. We have repair service on 1-555-1611 for residence and coin and 1-555-1515 for business; the "Public Service Center" (for dealing with public and semi-public coin phones -- not COCOTS I think) is at 1-555-1717. I don't know how out of area 555 is handled; 700-555 is a per carrier option, except that +700-555-4141 seems to have become the standard "carrier ID" number. >... 700 numbers >are by carrier, meaning an AT&T customer usually cannot directly >access the services of other carriers on 700 numbers, etc. Not strictly correct; an AT&T customer may access other carriers' 700 services by prefixing the appropriate 10XXX prefix, just as customers of other carriers may access the AT&T services by using 10288. (And obviously this only applies to locations with equal access and service available from the desired carrier.) JBL nets: levin@bbn.com | BBN Communications or: ...!bbn!levin | M/S 20/7A POTS: +1 617 873 3463 | 150 Cambridge Park Drive or: +1 603 880 1611 | Cambridge, MA 02140
hansen@pegasus.att.com (Tony L Hansen) (12/06/90)
< [Moderator's Note: 555-1212 was simply adopted as a universal number < for directory assistance, and to the best of my knowledge very little < else has been assigned on 555. I think one AT&T business office uses < something like 555-8111, but that is about all. Other examples? I've been told that whenever the film studios out in Hollywood want a phone number for use in a movie, TV show or commercial, they go through a special liason office with the phone company. (I think AT&T used to run this, but it's probably done through BellCore now.) The numbers which the studio receives are always 555-****, taken from a special pool set aside for this purpose. I think that the liason office even tries to recycle the number slowly enough so that they won't seem to be the same too often. The next time that you see a phone number given in a commercial or movie, it will almost certainly be a 555 number. Tony Hansen att!pegasus!hansen, attmail!tony hansen@pegasus.att.com
DREUBEN@eagle.wesleyan.edu (Douglas Scott Reuben) (12/06/90)
Hi- re: 555-1212 and what other services "555" goes to other than Directory Assistance: In New England Tel territory, 1-555-6611 (or is it -1611?) gets repair service. I've tried "611", which is more standard, and it doesn't work. 800-555-5000 was the old Bell System "Let's Talk" number, which was basically an information service set up just before divestiture so that people wouldn't get "scared" about the breakup, etc. (Although in retrospect maybe they should have! :) ). Now it seems to go to the local Bell that is serving you, ie, in New York it goes to NY Tel, and in CT it goes to SNET, or just dies at their recording, etc. This seems to change from time to time, or rather, from place to place. I California (San Jose) I gave it a try last summer, and got the AT&T Phonecenter Info line, but I tried it a few months later and got Pac*Bell. Maybe it just cut over in the interim? Some other Bells have 1-555-xxxx for coin-telephone repair, etc. I think Pacific Northwest Bell had something like this (now USWEST), although I can't be sure about this either. A good place to look is on the instruction card at a Bell payphone, or in the front of the White Pages. Note that 1-617-555-6611 will get you NE Tel repair if you dial it Long Distance. I always thought that 1-Area Code-555-xxxx will ALWAYS get DA, but I guess not. Doug dreuben@eagle.wesleyan.edu dreuben@wesleyan.bitnet (and just plain old "dreuben" to locals...!! :-) ) [Moderator's Note: 555-anything here cuts to DA. At least I have not seen any exceptions. PAT]
yarvin-norman@cs.yale.edu (Norman Yarvin) (12/07/90)
555 numbers are also used in movies, in scenes where a phone number is spoken. The assumption is that 555 numbers will either be unassigned or will be assigned to a telephone company number (such as directory assistance) which can handle large amounts of calls. [Moderator's Note: None of this would be needed of course if it were not for the nuts who go to the movies then try to actually call one of the numbers to 'see who they get' when they dial. PAT]
SABAHE@macalstr.edu (Arun Baheti) (12/09/90)
I'm glad that they at least use 555- numbers now. I remember about ten years ago when a muscial group (the B-52s?) did a song about someone's phone number. All over the country, the poor owners of xxx-xxxx were driven batty by fans just trying out the number to see if anything would happen. I'm not sure how they phone company (at that time it was just Ma Bell) dealt with it. ab
goudreau@dg-rtp.dg.com (Bob Goudreau) (12/11/90)
In article <15341@accuvax.nwu.edu>, SABAHE@macalstr.edu (Arun Baheti) writes: > I remember about ten years ago when a muscial group (the B-52s?) did > a song about someone's phone number. All over the country, the poor > owners of xxx-xxxx were driven batty by fans just trying out the > number to see if anything would happen. Ah, yes, the song "Jenny" by Tommy Two-tone (sp?). The refrain was Jenny's number as listed on a bathroom wall: "eight six seven five three oh nine". No, *don't* go ahead and call it :-). Bob Goudreau +1 919 248 6231 Data General Corporation goudreau@dg-rtp.dg.com 62 Alexander Drive ...!mcnc!rti!xyzzy!goudreau Research Triangle Park, NC 27709, USA
news@accuvax.nwu.edu (USENET News System) (12/16/90)
I have seen several things done with 700 numbers. My understanding is that, unlike all other phone numbers in the US/Canada system, 700 numbers are not unique. That is, when you dial 1-700-xxx-xxxx, what you get (if anything) depends on your long distance carrier as well as on the number itself; different carriers can use the same 700 number for different things. The original 700 number, of course, was 700 555-4141, which is free and gets you a recording telling you what LD carrier you are on. If you get any other 700 numbers, check them out with your LD company before using them. Not all of them are free on all carriers.
74066.2004@compuserve.com (Larry Rachman) (12/16/90)
A few earlier entries in telecom have speculated on why 555-1212 is
often used as the equivalent of 'foo'.
Well, back when I was a kid, all the Bell System (!) ads that showed a
phone showed the phone number:
311-555-2368
I remember a pre-DDD advertisement that just showed the NNX, and
someone told me about an *old* phone book that gave as an example:
"...ask the operator for MAIN 2368"
At the ripe old age of 12 or so, a friend and I spent hours in his
photo darkroom, creating the perfect
--------------------------
| AREA CODE |
| 311 555-2368 |
--------------------------
dial cards for our phones. It seemed like a good idea at the time.
Larry Rachman
74066.2004@compuserve.com
[Moderator's Note: '2368' with variations was always the number used
for example purposes in advertising, along with 'area code 311'. There
were a few ads which also made use of QUincy as an exchange. You know
how far people got calling that! I think one of the very old ads I
remember had Mr. Jones at QUincy 2368 trying to make a long distance
call to Mr. Smith at ZEigfield 8632. It explained how he would go
about doing it, and what to tell the operator. PAT]
poulin@acsu.buffalo.edu (Marc C. Poulin) (12/17/90)
In article <15341@accuvax.nwu.edu> SABAHE@macalstr.edu (Arun Baheti) writes: |I'm glad that they at least use 555- numbers now. I remember about |ten years ago when a muscial group (the B-52s?) did a song about |someone's phone number. All over the country, the poor owners of |xxx-xxxx were driven batty by fans just trying out the number to see |if anything would happen. I'm not sure how the phone company (at |that time it was just Ma Bell) dealt with it. Actually, the B-52's song in question is "6060-842", which is from their first, self-titled album, which came out in 1979. Back then, I don't believe there were any valid seven-digit numbers of the form N0N-XXXX. Marc poulin@{acsu.buffalo.edu|softvax.radc.af.mil}
juggler@hale.UUCP (The Juggler) (12/18/90)
> |I'm glad that they at least use 555- numbers now. I remember about > |ten years ago when a muscial group (the B-52s?) did a song about > |someone's phone number. All over the country, the poor owners of > |xxx-xxxx were driven batty by fans just trying out the number to see > |if anything would happen. I'm not sure how the phone company (at > |that time it was just Ma Bell) dealt with it. > Actually, the B-52's song in question is "6060-842", which is from > their first, self-titled album, which came out in 1979. Back then, I > don't believe there were any valid seven-digit numbers of the form > N0N-XXXX. I remember another "phone" song by an artist I have forgotten the name of. I believe the title of the song was "Jenny", and they kept repeating her supposed phone number, which was 867-5309. This was from the early 80's ... [Moderator's Note: One example which has stuck in my mind since this thread began was the use of BOWery 9-1000. A 'crime on the waterfront' type movie from the 1940's (title long forgotten -- anyone remember it?) has a closing scene in which we see a dimly lit, very cluttered office in the wee hours of the morning. The area is deserted, and a phone on the desk is ringing incessantly. After it has rung perhaps a dozen times, from a distance we see the back of a man as he shuffles down the hall and goes up to the phone to answer it. He mumbles into the phone, "Bowery nine one thousand". An indignant woman is on the other end and her shrill voice demands, "Is Mr. Johnson there?". The man replies, "Yes, Mr. Johnson is here." (woman) "Put him on the phone this minute! That no-good husband of mine!" (man) "I'm sorry madame, he can't speak to you on the phone." (woman) "What! Did you hear me?" ... then suspicious, she demands, "Say! What tavern is this I have reached? You send my no-good husband home right now! I don't want to come there and get him myself!!!" (man) "This is not a tavern, madame." (woman) "What? What number is this?" (man) "Boweryp nine one thousand. You're connected with the city morgue. Your husband is dead, madame; you'll have to come and get him, I'm afraid." PAT]
cmoore@brl.mil (VLD/VMB) (12/18/90)
In 1979, the only possible N0N-XXXX phone numbers would be in area 213 (now 213/818, with 310 on the way). But back around 1962, there was a song BEechwood 4-5789, which turns up occasionally on oldies programs. [Moderator's Note: Back in the 1950's here, there was a rather famous bordello which specialized in servicing wealthy and influential citizens from out of town. Their number was HAymarket 1 - 5111. Around election time one year the cops raided the joint and shut it down for good. The phone was disconnected, but it remained in the little black books of unsuspecting out-of-towners for *years* afterward. IBT was unable to assign the number for ten years without having the new subscribers complain about wrong numbers and frequently lewd long distance calls. PAT]