rmadison@euler.berkeley.edu (Linc Madison) (10/17/89)
Various contributors have referred to the horrible situation in Dallas. As a former resident who still visits frequently, I can tell you it's quite confusing, and largely needlessly so. First of all, Dallas (and all of Texas, at least the Bell parts) have had MANDATORY 1+ dialing since the introduction of DDD. It has never been possible to dial NPA-NNX-XXXX. Dallas and Fort Worth are toll to one another, but there are some prefixes in the area that are desig- nated "Metro", meaning calls to/from both Dallas and Fort Worth are local. Until quite recently, a subscriber with a Metro number could call from or be called by any telephone in the expanded area with just the 7-digit number. As a result of the recent introduction of NXX prefixes and the upcoming new area code, several changes have occurred: 1) To dial from Dallas to Tyler (both 214), you must dial 1+214+NXX-XXXX. However, to dial from Fort Worth to Waco (both 817) you dial only 1+NNX-XXXX. Same applies with 0+ calls. 2) To call from a regular Dallas number to a Fort Worth Metro number, you MUST dial 817-NNX-XXXX. If you dial just the 7 digits, you get an error message. If you dial 1+817-NNX-XXXX, you get error msg. 3) To call from a regular Dallas number to a Dallas Metro number, you MUST dial 214-NXX-XXXX, *even though* it's a local call in the same area code!! Same error messages as above. 4) To call out from any Metro number, I believe (I'm not certain) you must dial only the area code for local calls, but 1+ if it's toll and so on. The upshot is that you MUST dial 1 if it's toll, and you MUST NOT dial 1 if it's not toll. You must dial the area code whenever dealing with a Metro number, though. However, to make things even WORSE, in Houston, along the border between 713/409, some local calls are 1+713-NNX-XXXX or the same with 409 from 713. Got that? There'll be a quiz later.... Linc Madison = rmadison@euler.berkeley.edu P.S. (dead thread, I know, but...) My all-time favorite call sign, which I didn't see in the discussion here, is a TV station in Chicago: WTTW, your Window To The World. A station here in San Francisco is now using that slogan (KTSF-26), so I wonder what's happened to the Chicago WTTW. [Moderator's Note: WTTW-Channel 11 is still operating in Chicago. It is our Public TV station, and they still use 'Window To The World' as their slogan. My main concern now, Link, is what happened to YOU in the earthquake. Communications with Berkeley have been lost for several hours. Let us know you are safe, and what's happening out there. PT]
schnoebe@uunet.uu.net (Eric Schnoebelen) (10/19/89)
In article <telecom-v09i0457m05@vector.dallas.tx.us> rmadison@euler.berkeley.edu (Linc Madison) writes: -Various contributors have referred to the horrible situation in -Dallas. As a former resident who still visits frequently, I can tell -you it's quite confusing, and largely needlessly so. To add some additional comments and confusion to the Dallas calling situation, here are my comments. For the record, I have a personal metro line from GTE, at my home in Lewisville ( a far north Dallas suburb, actually closer to downtown Ft. Worth than downtown Dallas...ten minutes to DFW, forever to anywhere else :-) I originally got my metro line because I was frequently calling a girlfriend who lived in southwest Ft Worth, and the long distance charges were killing us. -3) To call from a regular Dallas number to a Dallas Metro number, you - MUST dial 214-NXX-XXXX, *even though* it's a local call in the same - area code!! Same error messages as above. This is not true, at least not with my metro number (214-434-1329, to be disconnected at the end of the month :-( ) I and my friends call my number as 434-1329 all the time, from all over Dallas. -4) To call out from any Metro number, I believe (I'm not certain) you - must dial only the area code for local calls, but 1+ if it's toll - and so on. To call Ft Worth, I have to dial 817-NXX-XXXX, to call Dallas, I just dial NXX-XXX. In Ft Worth, people must dial me at 214-434-XXXX. -The upshot is that you MUST dial 1 if it's toll, and you MUST NOT dial -1 if it's not toll. You must dial the area code whenever dealing with -a Metro number, though. I get the impression that at least one prefix in 214/817 is still reserved for true metro service. I hear the radio stations and Ticketron/Rainbow tickets advertising thier call in lines in the 787 exchange, with out listing the NPA. 787 is also ( obviously ) the choke exchange for Dallas/Ft Worth. -Got that? There'll be a quiz later.... Did I pass? [ picking on teacher time :-) ]