wtho@relay.eu.net (Tom Hofmann) (03/14/90)
In article <4989@accuvax.nwu.edu> johnl@esegue.segue.boston.ma.us (John R. Levine) writes: |>In that era, the only way to know when the entire number had been dialed was |>to time and wait to see if any more digits followed. |In Europe, this is still often the case. For example, if you want to |call the outfit that runs the Hannover trade fairs, their main number |is 89-0, while their fax machine is 89-32626. There is no waiting for more digits in the above case: no other number starts with 89-0. Whenever extensions can be dialled directly, <prefix>-0 (resp. <prefix>-1) is the number of the local operator while all other extensions have a fixed length number (e.g. 5 digits for Hannover trade fairs) starting with digits 2--9 ("<prefix>-NXX..." in US-like notation). Waiting for more digits is not necessary in Germany. In Austria, however, you sometimes get the local operator by simply dialling no extension. | A call from Paris to Amsterdam isn't going to go via |Warsaw no matter how much spare bandwidth they have, the politics of |accounting for everything make it impractical. Is a call from Florida to Hawaii routed via Mexico? | Compare this to the European mess |where the international code for each country is different, As in America! There are only two countries with the same area code: USA and Canada (forget the Caribbean--that is like Liechtenstein, San Marino etc. which have no country code either). |countries have special case dialing rules, e.g. Britain from Ireland, How about special case dialing from North America to Mexico ("area code" 905 instead of +52 5)? |and they do run out of numbers and stick new digits in various random |places. Usually, when running out of numbers, they add only one new digit at a time. Still easier to remember then a new 3-digit area code. |I note that some European countries such as France and Belgium have |moved to fixed length numbers, I cannot remember that France ever had variable length numbers. |It'll be interesting to see if they move to a unified routine scheme |and, if so, whether the adherents of variable length numbers (Germany and |Italy, for reasons of theology and disorganization, respectively) have |to change. Rather the opposite. France and Belgium are the only countries in the European Community (or even all of Europe?) with fixed length numbers. (I am not sure --- has Belgium such a fixed number length?) Tom Hofmann wtho@cgch.UUCP
John_David_Galt@uunet.uu.net (03/18/90)
In the USA, the only case where timing must be considered is when the
first digit you dial is 0. The zero could be the whole number. What
follows is the rest of the scheme, which allows ALL other cases to be
distinguished by their initial digits (usually the first two, but
sometimes as many as nine).
Here are the "old" and "new" systems as best I understand them. At
present a few crowded area codes use the "new" system and the rest use
the "old." I predict that in a few years all of USA + Canada +
carribean will have to go to the "new" system, because we will have
run out of area codes possible under the "old" system. (Under the old
system an area code must have first digit in range 2-9, second 0-1,
third any. New system allows second digit to be any, so the set of
possible codes increases by a factor of five!)
Old system:
First digit 0, second 0 = long distance operator "00", total length = 2.
First digit 0, second 1 = International call. This case IS ambiguous, but
the ambiguity is not a result of the US system, and you can tell the
network you are done by hitting "#" at the end.
First digit 0, second 2-9 = Operator assisted call. Ignore the initial zero
for purposes of determining length.
First digit 1, second 0 = First five digits are a company code, then figure
the total length as if the company code were omitted.
First digit 1, second 1 = Special function, length set by local phone co.
(For example, "1170" turns off my Call Waiting.)
First digit 1, second 2-9 = The initial "1" is ignored, figure the length using
the rest.
First digit 2-9, second 0 = Area code + number, total length = 10
First digit 2-9, second 1 = Check third digit to catch the special cases 411,
611, and 911 (total length = 3). Otherwise it is area code + number = 10.
First digit 2-9, second 2-9 = Local number, total length = 7
New system:
First digit 0, second 0 = same as old system
First digit 0, second 1 = same as old system
First digit 0, second 2-9 = 0 + area code + number, total length = 11. (Yes,
the new system requires the area code on operator assisted calls to your own
area code. Los Angeles does not yet have this but San Francisco does.)
First digit 1, second 0 = same as old system
First digit 1, second 1 = same as old system
First digit 1, second 2-9 = 1 + area code + number, total length = 11
First digit 2-9 = Check second and third digits to catch the special cases 411,
611, and 911 (total length = 3). Otherwise local number, total length = 7
Also, for those of you who aren't from here and haven't heard:
California will soon have TWELVE area codes! The new ones are 510
(effective 10/7/91, covers the East Bay section of what is now 415)
and 310 (2/1/92, western Los Angeles County).
Have a phone time! :)
---> John_David_Galt@cup.portal.com
(There IS no save vs. puns! Ahhahahaha!)