cmoore@brl.mil (VLD/VMB) (12/01/89)
In October, I visited National Airport and looked over the pay phones, of various types. (Area code 703, in an area still reachable via 202.) Most were on 486, 684, 685. I think I saw one phone on 548 (old-town Alexandria prefix), and I saw at least 4 AT&T green-video-display-screen phones on 271 (a new prefix in Crystal City area). A 0+ call I made from 271 resulted in "703-271 Alexandria" on my phone bill (Alexandria/Arlington is lumped together in the call guide, but I consider it a bit of "noise" to display 271 as Alexandria; Crystal City/Columbia Pike exchanges are, strictly speaking, Arlington). Instruction cards have not changed, and 7D for ALL local calls is still valid (this excludes extended-area calls to Prince William and local calls from some Md. points to 301-569). However, these phones apparently already have the calling scheme described earlier in Telecom (7D for local calls NOT crossing NPA line, NPA+7D for local calls crossing NPA line, 1+NPA+7D elsewhere). NPA+7D for local calls NOT crossing NPA line is valid! (does this simplify the programming of the equipment?) Lastly, 202+7D is valid only for calls to DC proper. (Just south of there, across 4 Mile Run, between the George Washington Mem. Pkwy. and the Potomac, is an area which includes a marina, and the pay phones there are all old-town Alexandria.)