michael@uunet.uu.net (11/19/90)
From: {The Washington Post}, Sat Nov 17 1990
2nd Area Code for Md.
Maryland will get its second telephone area code next year.
The entire state now uses a single area code, 301. The Chesapeake
and Potomac Telephone Co. of Maryland said Friday a second code is
needed to accommodate requests for telephone service and for
telecommunications services such as mobile phones, facsimile machines
and beepers.
The new 410 area code will serve metropolitan Baltimore, the entire
Eastern Shore, Calvert County and the majority of Carroll, Howard and
Anne Arundel counties.
The rest of the state will use the existing 301 area code.
"There will be no change in rates customers are charged, and there
will be no change in local calling areas," said C&P spokesman Al
Burman.
The new area code will be phased in over the next two years.
Customers will be encouraged to begin using it next November. During
most of 1992, customers will be able to use either 301 or 410 to place
calls to the 410 area code. In November, 1992, customers will have to
use the correct area code. Using the wrong one will cause them to hear
a recorded message.
Michael Katzmann Broadcast Sports Technology
Amateur Radio Stations:
NV3Z / VK2BEA / G4NYV UUCP: ..uunet!mimsy!arinc!vk2bea!michael
[Moderator's Note: Thanks also to Roger Fajman <raf@cu.nih.gov>
for an almost identical article he submitted. PAT]covert@covert.enet.dec.com (John R. Covert) (11/19/90)
Additional info on 410: It will go into service on 1 November 1991 and remain permissive until 1 November 1992. Bell Atlantic claims that it will be the first N10 area code (although both 310 and 510 have been announced, they may not go into service as soon as 410). They are also referring to it as "four-ten" -- a practice I hope they will stop soon. john [Moderator's Note: I'm curious about your attitude toward four-ten. Why do you feel that is bad syntax? What about three-twelve or eight-oh-nine? Is your preference for four-one-zero, three-one-two and eight-zero-nine? 'Zero' frequently is pronounced 'oh'. Do you feel this could/does cause some confusion? PAT]
goudreau@dg-rtp.dg.com (Bob Goudreau) (11/20/90)
In article <14766@accuvax.nwu.edu>, opel!arinc!vk2bea!eccles! michael@uunet.uu.net writes: > The new 410 area code will serve metropolitan Baltimore, the entire > Eastern Shore, Calvert County and the majority of Carroll, Howard and > Anne Arundel counties. > The rest of the state will use the existing 301 area code. This raises an interesting point. As far as I can tell, this appears to be the first time that an area code split has resulted in the original area code's major metro area getting left out in the cold (i.e., assigned to the new code, with all the concomitant bother, rather than getting to keep the old one). Perhaps the explanation is that even though Baltimore is the largest city *in* Maryland, Washington D.C. and environs is the biggest conurbation *near* Maryland, so the Washington suburbs "win" and get to stay in 301. Examples of the normal rule include Manhattan (got to keep 212 -- twice now!), Boston (617), San Francisco (415), Houston (713), Denver (303), Miami (305), "core" Los Angeles (213 -- twice), and probably several others as well. But does anyone know of any previous violations of the rule? Bob Goudreau +1 919 248 6231 Data General Corporation 62 Alexander Drive goudreau@dg-rtp.dg.com Research Triangle Park, NC 27709 ...!mcnc!rti!xyzzy!goudreau USA
cmoore@brl.mil (VLD/VMB) (11/20/90)
I don't know what the meaning is of John Covert's objection to "four-ten", although I always read area codes as, say, "three one two" and not "three twelve". Comment on the Moderator's Note: Exchange names were dropped in favor of all-digit telephone numbers, partly to eliminate confusion between "1" and "I", and also between "0" (zero) and "O" (letter), and thus it is not that likely that "oh" used nowadays will be read as the letter "O". Bob Goudreau <goudreau@dg-rtp.dg.com> writes about Baltimore being removed from area 301. When Virginia was split in 1973, Richmond and Norfolk went into 804, and the DC area along with western Virginia stayed in 703. It will be interesting to see what's done in the Laurel and Annapolis areas. Along with the "default" exchanges (which you would find on pay phones in those areas), they have pseudo-foreign exchanges providing metro service for both DC and Baltimore areas. It reminds me of the Los Angeles foreign exchanges (which stayed in area 213 at the 213/818 split) used in places like Burbank and Pasadena, whose other exchanges were put in 818. Baltimore and DC metro areas practically touch or overlap nowadays, and the 301/410 line will have to pass somewhere between those cities. Laurel, except for the Baltimore-metro exchange 792 (and possible newer ones), is local to Washington, and I'm wondering about local service across 301/410 line. Columbia (to go into 410?) has local service (seven digit, as it's all within the present area 301) north to Baltimore and south to Silver Spring, right next door to DC.
IZZYAS1@oac.ucla.edu (Andy Jacobson) (11/21/90)
In V. 10 #833"John R. Covert" <covert@covert.enet.dec.com> writes: >Additional info on 410: It will go into service on 1 November 1991 and >remain permissive until 1 November 1992. >Bell Atlantic claims that it will be the first N10 area code (although >both 310 and 510 have been announced, they may not go into service as >soon as 410). Pac*Bell says, (and to correct slightly Carl Moore's excellent area code history in V. 10 #837): 510 goes into effect September 2, 1991, and 310 goes on line Nov. 2,1991, so Bell Atlantic's a bit off on their claim. I'm wondering though exactly where the border between 301 and 410 will be. Will BWI be included? Also, in reference to <goudreau@dg-rtp.dg.com> "Bob Goudreau"'s question (V10 #833) about large metro areas switching codes, San Diego got the burn when 619 was carved out of 714. It was certainly much bigger than any of the suburbs in Orange County that got to keep the old code. Maybe Orange County has more political clout. A. Jacobson <izzyas1@oac.ucla.edu>
dattier@ddsw1.mcs.com (David Tamkin) (11/21/90)
Carl Moore wrote in volume 10, issue 836: | It will be interesting to see what's done in the Laurel and Annapolis | areas. Along with the "default" exchanges (which you would find on | pay phones in those areas), they have pseudo-foreign exchanges | providing metro service for both DC and Baltimore areas. It reminds | me of the Los Angeles foreign exchanges (which stayed in area 213 at | the 213/818 split) used in places like Burbank and Pasadena, whose | other exchanges were put in 818. When 708 was split from 312, the pseudo-Chicago prefixes in the Evanston (BRoadway 3), Cicero (BIshop 2), and Elk Grove (part of 569) central offices remained in 312, even though they are used only in the suburbs. After all, their purpose is to provide Chicago service out there, and that includes seven-digit dialing to and from Chicago. For billing of individual incoming or outgoing calls, they are treated as Rogers Park, Austin, and Newcastle respectively. (For calls charged by rate center rather than by district office, 242 is treated as part of Lafayette.) I imagine that Annapolis's DC-metro service will stay in 301 (unless it has already stayed in 202!) and Laurel's Baltimore-metro service will go into 410. Someone else asked whether the 301/410 split is the first time that the major city in an NPA has received the new code instead of retaining the old one. I think that's rather a subjective call: when 619 split from 714, no doubt more phones and more people stayed in 714 but the single largest city involved was probably San Diego, which went into 619. Conversely, when 708 split from 312, more people and more lines changed area codes but the single largest city kept the original code. Who's to say which city is the most important in an area code (other than single-city NPA's like 202 and 312)? I think two changes in such rapid succession in the way to dial from DC to its Maryland suburbs would have been too much for the minds of our civil servants and way too much for the minds of our elected officials. David Tamkin Box 7002 Des Plaines IL 60018-7002 708 518 6769 312 693 0591 MCI Mail: 426-1818 GEnie: D.W.TAMKIN CIS: 73720,1570 dattier@ddsw1.mcs.com
RAF@cu.nih.gov (Roger Fajman) (11/25/90)
> I think two changes in such rapid succession in the way to dial from > DC to its Maryland suburbs would have been too much for the minds of > our civil servants and way too much for the minds of our elected > officials. It seems to me that we can do without the gratuitous insults in this forum. The change to area codes for local calls in the DC area seemed to cause few problems. I heard few complaints other than a couple of newspaper columns that seemed at least partly tongue in cheek. Not much different than the other areas, I suspect. We had to update our user data base, which previously had not contained area codes for local numbers. Yes, TELECOM Digest's reach is so great that even some of us civil servants see it. :-) Roger Fajman Telephone: +1 301 402 1246 National Institutes of Health BITNET: RAF@NIHCU Bethesda, Maryland, USA Internet: RAF@CU.NIH.GOV
cmoore@brl.mil (VLD/VMB) (12/01/90)
Do you know of any reasons for: 1. relatively short notice of this change 2. long time for permissive dialing (unless it's just a logical followup to item 1 immediately above) Baltimore, for those of you who don't know, is big enough to make a distinction between city and suburban exchange (and it's getting the new area code). Other such big cities in the mid-Atlantic area are New York City, Philadelphia, and Washington DC.
johnk@opel.com (John Kennedy) (12/02/90)
You're all well aware that now we dial ten digits in the DC area for local calls across the 703, 301 and 202 area codes. When 410 splits Maryland next year, there will continue to be local calls from those area codes above into the new 410 area. While two of the lines in my home are now long distance to each other (757 and 858, where 858 is actually Bowie/Glendale), these two lines will have different area codes and calls remain toll. A friend in Crofton has two lines that are allowed to call each other locally. He will have two different area codes but these lines will remain local to each other. John Kennedy johnk@opel.COM Second Source, Inc. Annapolis, MD
cmoore@brl.mil (VLD/VMB) (12/03/90)
(I can't send to johnk@opel.com ! This replies to a note from him.) Huh? What local calls will there be going into 410 from 202 and from 703? I have already written in the Digest about local calls from Laurel and Silver Spring going across what will become the 301/410 boundary. How will those local calls (now seven digit because they're within 301 area) be dialed after the 301/410 split? Am I correct in the assumptions I have sent to the Digest? <-- Laurel, except for Baltimore-metro prefixes, stays in 301; Columbia, except for prefixes which are local to Washington, will go into 410.