tom@pdx.mentor.com (Tom Ace) (09/21/89)
In Telecom Digest V9 #376, Greg Monti (via John R. Covert) wrote: >My understanding of Area Code splits is that Bellcore hands out new >Area Codes when the controlling Local Operating Company for that Area >Code can prove that it is within a certain percent of running out of >numbers, *assuming that the existing number base is being used in the >most efficient possible way.* I would imagine that Bellcore strongly >suggests that prefixes with a 1 or 0 as the second digit be >implemented first, before splitting the Area Code, since this >maximizes the number base within the NPA and minimizes the number of >times the nation at large must endure NPA splits. This may very well be the way it is, but it sounds like Bad Thinking to me. In many cases, it is possible to anticipate enough future need for new telephone numbers in an area to know that allowing N0X and N1X prefixes will only delay an inevitable area code split. In New York City, only a couple of years elapsed between when they added the new prefixes (requiring 1-plus dialing for long distance) and when 212 was split into 212 and 718. Adding the prefixes did not help to minimize the number of area code splits, it only postponed a split, and at a cost. The cost I'm referring two took these forms: 1-plus dialing became mandatory for long distance calls from New York City. Before the N0X and N1X prefixes were added, New York City had dialing the way God intended it: just dial the number, with or without an area code, no 1-plus required. To make an operator-assisted local call in New York City, you must now always include an area code, even if it's your own. For example, if you're at a phone in the 212 area, and want to dial an operator-assisted local call to 802-1234, you will dial 0-212-802-1234. (Contrast this to the way it was handled in Los Angeles: the same 0-plus dialing pattern as before, no need to include the area code if it's your own, but if it's a local call to an N0X or N1X exchange, the CO will recognize this by timing out after the seventh digit of the phone number is dialed. Neither solution is elegant.) The N0X and N1X exchanges are ugly. Most telephone users hadn't ever seen them before. Telling your phone number to someone sometimes caused them to think they'd heard wrong, because they'd never seen such an animal before. When New York City's area code was split, the heart of the city (Manhattan) retained the original 212 area code. That also seemed to be the aim in other area code splits that I observed. When Colorado split into two area codes, I noted that Denver and the rest of northern Colorado retained the 303 area code, but a different reason for this was given in a newspaper article: it was said that the greater need for new numbers was in the south. This prompted me to write a letter to the Mountain Bell executive quoted in the newspaper. I've reproduced my letter and his response below. Other writers in this digest have recommended the experience of touring a central office. I add the following fun suggestion: write a personal letter to your friendly BOC CEO. Tom Ace tom@sje.mentor.com ...!mntgfx!sje!tom ================================= My letter: (303) 499-1919 710 South 42 Street Boulder, CO 80303 November 20, 1986 Solomon D. Trujillo Mountain Bell 1005 17th Street Denver, CO 80202 Dear Mr. Trujillo: I saw your name in the newspaper associated with an announcement that Colorado will be served by two area codes starting in 1988. I had noticed that when New York and Los Angeles started to run out of telephone numbers, new exchanges were created that had the form of NPAs, i.e., with 0 or 1 as the second digit. These actions only postponed the invevitable splits into 212/718 and 213/818, and left both areas with those ugly new exchanges and some awkward dialing patterns for local operator-assisted calls. I want to thank whoever was responsible for deciding not to go that route here in Colorado. I received a piece of literature enclosed with my latest phone bill, advising of the coming area code split, and explaining that the southern Colorado calling area will receive the new area code because it was in that area that the most significant growth was occurring. You and I know, though, that the northern calling area in which we live is clearly where it's at, and will retain the 303 area code because it deserves to. I do appreciate, however, the need to explain the choice tactfully, in a way that wouldn't offend those who live in the other area. Who makes these choices? Did Mountain Bell select 719 from the few remaining codes, or was the decision made by some central committee? Thanks for your time. Sincerely, Thomas Ace =================================== His response: Mountain Bell Solomon D. Trujillo Colorado VP and CEO December 4, 1986 Mr. Thomas Ace 710 South 42 Street Boulder, Colorado 80303 Dear Mr. Ace: Thank you for your letter regarding the Colorado area code split. I agree it's important to handle the transaction as smoothly as possible and with as little customer disruption as possible. I do not agree, however, on your reason for why the new area code goes to the southern area. The Colorado Springs area as our choice was really as it was stated: the area is expecting significant aerospace and other growth over the next few years. They need the phone numbers! To answer your last question, we were assigned the 719 area code by Bell Communications Resources in New Jersey. One of its central functions for the country is maintaining and assigning area codes. Thank you so much for writing. It always brightens my day to hear from a customer with positive comments. Sincerely, S. D. Trujillo