Jack.Winslade@f666.n285.z1.fidonet.org (Jack Winslade) (06/24/90)
In a message of <19 Jun 90 02:46:26>, Woody writes: >In the midst of the vast numbers of nxx prefixes put into service each >year, does anyone have examples of nxx prefixes taken out of service? I ran into two such examples last year when I was attempting to make up an >>ACCURATE<< prefix list for the Omaha dialing area. The one that they published in the phone book was a joke. Even a cursory inspection by Joe Average would find some omissions. (BTW: This year's official Ma Bell phone book does NOT contain such a list.) It seems like pulling teeth to get an official list. The droids in the business office told me to look in the phone book and swore it was accurate. Sysops need these lists for nodelist processing software. The 402-541 prefix is evidently defunct. Coincidentally, my office phone was on this prefix about ten years ago on a (gag!) 101 ESS Centrex slaved off of a 5 crossbar office. All of the crossbar hardware has now been deep-sixed from the downtown Omaha area, and it looks like 541 went with it. This next one is a real goodie. It showed up as valid in last year's directory but results in an intercept (at the originating switch) when dialed. Looking through some back directories showed that the 402-281 prefix has only had ONE working number assigned to it, and that was the main number for the Union Pacific Railroad headquarters. Numerical directories back to the 60's showed 281-5822 (U.P. Hqtrs) as the only number on the office. All other U.P. numbers (DID or Centrex) were, and are still on, the 271 prefix. This is not a typographical error. It's been this way from the late 60's through the 80's. Oops. Forgot one. Make that three in Omaha. There was a short-lived choke prefix -- 894 -- in downtown Omaha for a while. I only know of it being used for a dial-in weather recording. Good Day! JSW [1:285/666@fidonet] DRBBS Technical BBS, Omaha (1:285/666) --- Through FidoNet gateway node 1:16/390 Jack.Winslade@f666.n285.z1.fidonet.org