msb@sq.com (Mark Brader) (11/07/90)
Has any particular plan been made for what to do when the North American area code for toll-free calls, 800, fills up? It would be nice if a code that was somewhat similar had been reserved for splitting it. Given that 700, 801, and 900 are all in some sort of use, the best choice would seem to be 810. What fraction of the 800-number namespace is currently allocated? Mark Brader, SoftQuad Inc., Toronto, utzoo!sq!msb, msb@sq.com
johnl@iecc.cambridge.ma.us (John R. Levine) (11/09/90)
In article <14468@accuvax.nwu.edu> is written: >Has any particular plan been made for what to do when the North >American area code for toll-free calls, 800, fills up? According to the chart in the Telecom Archives, of the 800 possible prefixes in NPA 800, 434 are assigned to a carrier, leaving 366 totally empty. Of those 434 prefixes, none to my knowledge are full, and some appear to be empty as well. Since you never dial an 800 number without the area code, it should be possible to assign the 1XX and 0XX prefixes as well. So at this point, 800 is less than half full, maybe less than 1/3 full. At some point in the next few years when the network is upgraded, the current system of routing 800 numbers by prefix will change to route by full number, allowing numbers to be reclaimed from carriers who haven't used up the ones they have. By the time 800 fills up it will be well past 1995, and I expect they'll use a prefix like 880 or 888. It may seem that 800 will fill up quickly with the advent of residential 800 numbers, but do keep in mind that the fact that half of the contributors to telecom have one doesn't say much about the public at large. I'd get one myself if only I could figure out a use for it. Just like a cellular phone. Regards, John Levine, johnl@iecc.cambridge.ma.us, {spdcc|ima|world}!esegue!johnl