rees@dabo.ifs.umich.edu (Jim Rees) (05/29/90)
I live in the USA. Sometimes when I'm bored I like to call the operator and ask, "What is the country code for the USA?" (An amusing variation on this is to ask for the country code for Canada.) I've been doing this for years and never got the right answer. Usually I get shuttled to various supervisors for about ten minutes, and the final answer is almost always, "There is no country code for the USA." Today, for the first time, I got the correct answer from an AT&T operator. She put me on hold for about five minutes then came back with it. I'll be trying MCI and Sprint operators tonight. By the way, the USA country code still isn't given in any USA telephone directory I've ever seen. Burkino Faso? OK. Vanuato? No problem. USA? Forget it!
Guy Middleton <gamiddleton@watmath.waterloo.edu> (05/31/90)
In article <8409@accuvax.nwu.edu> rees@citi.umich.edu (Jim Rees) writes: > I live in the USA. Sometimes when I'm bored I like to call the > operator and ask, "What is the country code for the USA?" (An amusing > variation on this is to ask for the country code for Canada.) I've > been doing this for years and never got the right answer. Usually I > get shuttled to various supervisors for about ten minutes, and the > final answer is almost always, "There is no country code for the USA." Strictly speaking, isn't it true that neither the USA nor Canada have country codes? Both countries are in Zone 1, I believe, and there is nothing else in Zone 1, so there is no real confusion. All the country codes seem to be at least two digits long, so if codes are ever assigned, they could be 10 and 11.
David E A Wilson <david@cs.uow.edu.au> (05/31/90)
rees@dabo.ifs.umich.edu (Jim Rees) writes: >By the way, the USA country code still isn't given in any USA >telephone directory I've ever seen. Burkino Faso? OK. Vanuato? No >problem. USA? Forget it! <a> <u> Here in Australia we had the same problem. Ascension Is = 247, Austria = 43. NO Australia = 61. In my 1988 Wollongong directory it is at the bottom of the page of IDD calling instructions. In 1989 it is missing. In 1990 it is back on the IDD page. Why it is not listed with all the other countries I don't know - that is where I would look if I wanted to know it. David Wilson
John Slater <johns@happy.uk.sun.com> (05/31/90)
In article <8446@accuvax.nwu.edu>, gamiddleton@watmath.waterloo.edu (Guy Middleton) writes: >Strictly speaking, isn't it true that neither the USA nor Canada have >country codes? Both countries are in Zone 1, I believe, and there is >nothing else in Zone 1, so there is no real confusion. All the >country codes seem to be at least two digits long, so if codes are >ever assigned, they could be 10 and 11. Of course they have country codes! Otherwise how would it be possible to dial the US and Canada from elsewhere? To dial US area code 415 from the UK, I dial 010 (international access code), then 1 (country code for US), then 415 XXX XXXX. If I omit the "1", I'll get through to somewhere in Switzerland (country code 41). Anyway, what do you mean by "zone 1"? Surely this is just another way of saying "country code 1". The US/Canada country code is unusual in two ways : (1) it is the only single-digit country code, and (2) it happens to be the same as the code normally used for LD access in the US and Canada. John
mmm@cup.portal.com (06/01/90)
Next time, try asking for the country code of New Mexico :-) [Moderator's Note: Listen, that's not funny! Ask people living in New Mexico sometime how often they have to fight the ignorance of credit card clerks and mail order companies who try to tell them they do not 'do business outside the United States' ... I had an Illinois Bell operator one time try to find the 'international routing' to connect me on a call there. What's worse these days, the American's pitiful command of English or our abysmal lack of knowledge in geography? PT]
dolf@idca.tds.philips.nl (Dolf Grunbauer) (06/01/90)
In article <8489@accuvax.nwu.edu> John Slater <johns@happy.uk.sun.com> writes: <The US/Canada country code is unusual in two ways : (1) it is the only <single-digit country code, and (2) it happens to be the same as the <code normally used for LD access in the US and Canada. The USSR has country code 7. Dolf Grunbauer Tel: +31 55 433233 Internet dolf@idca.tds.philips.nl Philips Information Systems UUCP ...!mcsun!philapd!dolf Dept. BS Software, P.O. Box 245, 7300 AE Apeldoorn, The Netherlands [Moderator's Note: And thanks also to Carl Moore <cmoore@brl.mil> for a similar message pointing this out. PT]
Christopher-Vance@adfa.oz.au (06/04/90)
johns@happy.uk.sun.com (John Slater) writes: | The US/Canada country code is unusual in two ways : (1) it is the only | single-digit country code, and (2) it happens to be the same as the Bzzztttt. You forgot the USSR.
russ@bbx.UUCP (Russ Kepler) (06/04/90)
In article <8539@accuvax.nwu.edu> mmm@cup.portal.com writes: >Next time, try asking for the country code of New Mexico :-) OK - that does it. We're taking all of those funny bombs, planes, missiles, etc. that you USAians keep leaving laying around here and secceeding... we'll create our own country, apply for out own country code (OB telecom content) and go our own way. We'll be better armed than the country of Nebraska... >[Moderator's Note: Listen, that's not funny! Ask people living in New >Mexico sometime how often they have to fight the ignorance of credit >card clerks and mail order companies who try to tell them they do not >'do business outside the United States' ... I had an Illinois Bell >operator one time try to find the 'international routing' to connect >me on a call there. What's worse these days, the American's pitiful >command of English or our abysmal lack of knowledge in geography? PT] Actually it's kinda fun. The New_Mexico_Magazine has a column called One_of_Our_Fifty_is_Missing that is devoted to printing the, uhhh, interesting things that refer to NM being a foreign country. Little things, mostly, like the geography teachers asking for posters, phamplets and samples of our currency ... I did once have someone ask me about the exchange rate on a flight here, ohh - the temptation. But it's different in Europe. All I have to do is show my passport and they figure it out. Russ Kepler - Basis Int'l SNAIL: 5901 Jefferson NE, Albuquerque, NM 87109 UUCP: bbx.basis.com!russ PHONE: 505-345-5232
Mark Lawrence <mark@drd.com> (06/05/90)
rees@citi.umich.edu (Jim Rees) wrote: } I live in the USA. Sometimes when I'm bored I like to call the } operator and ask, "What is the country code for the USA?" [stuff elided] I don't know the answer (for sure), but I do know that when I dial home from Japan using KDD, the *access code* is 001 and the country code is 1 (then a/c,exchange and number). mark@DRD.Com {uunet,rutgers}!drd!mark (918) 743-3013
John R. Covert <covert@covert.enet.dec.com> (06/07/90)
From: Greg Monti Subject: Re: AT&T Finally Learns USA Country Code rees@dabo.ifs.umich.edu (Jim Rees) writes: > By the way, the USA country code still isn't given in any USA > telephone directory I've ever seen. Burkino Faso? OK. Vanuato? No > problem. USA? Forget it! I found one. A Lincoln Telephone & Telegraph (LTT) directory in Lincoln, Nebraska (yes, that's an independent company), lists the country code for United States as 1 with a footnote saying that it's only for calling back to the US from other countries. It's in the ordinary list of country and city codes, correctly alphabetized. Only place I've ever seen it printed in USA. Greg Monti, Arlington, Virginia; work +1 202 822 2633