rmadison@euler.berkeley.edu (Linc Madison) (10/28/89)
In article <telecom-v09i0473m07@vector.dallas.tx.us>, Bob Goudreau: >Does anyone out there know why "011" was chosen as the international >access code here in the North American Numbering Plan? If it were up >to me, I'd probably pick "11" instead (i.e., "1" for long distance and >"11" for *very* long distance, the way many European countries use "0" >and "00"). Is there currently some special meaning assigned to "11"? As has been noted in a couple of recent articles, "11" is reserved for certain custom calling features from pulse-dial phones. For example, I can dial 70* to cancel call waiting, or I can dial 1170. This scheme is in wide use across much of the country. The one thing I would've changed is that it seems logical to me to say, "Dial 01 for international, and then 1 if it's direct-dial or 0 for operator assistance," to make it more analogous to domestic calls. Thus we would have 011/010 instead of 011/01. Linc Madison = rmadison@euler.berkeley.edu