nobody@nowhere.UUCP (warning - this is a bogus address) (08/16/89)
RE: Changes in Dialing Procedures in 202, 301, 313, 404, 703 NPA's I only receive summaries of traffic on this net, so these may have appeared already: NPA 404: Beginning on unknown date, phone users in 404 NPA (part of Georgia) will dial direct-dialed toll and all operator-assisted calls within 404 differently: CALL TYPE OLD WAY NEW WAY Toll within 404 NPA 1 + 7 digits 1 + 404 + 7 digits Op-assist within 404 NPA 0 + 7 digits 0 + 404 + 7 digits Reason for change: to accommodate use of interchangeable codes (prefixes within 404 containing zero or one as second digit). NPA 313: Beginning on an unknown date, phone users in 313 NPA (part of Michigan) may dial direct-dialed toll calls within 313 NPA as only 7 digits (was 1 + 7 digits). Reason for change: unknown. NPA's 202, 301, 703: Beginning 1 October 1990, phone users in NPA's 202 (District of Columbia), and those parts of 301 (Maryland) and 703 (part of Virginia) which are close enough to each other to be affected will be required to dial local calls across NPA boundaries with 10 digits (currently 7 digits). Reason for change: elimination of code conservation. Currently, there are no duplicated codes within anyone's 7 digit dialing area. They'll be allowed after 1 Oct 90. Prefixes are being chewed up pretty quickly. Reason change was announced a whopping 16 months in advance: to allow PABX, COCOT and other users with programmable systems time to reprogram them for the change. Some systems may be programmed to allow only 7 digit or 1 + 10 digit calls. Now, 10 digit calls need to be allowed, but only if the first three digits are 202, 301 or 703. This differs from the 617/508 situation in Massachusetts where all calls across the boundary are 1 + 10 digits regardless of whether local or toll. In the Washington area, the 10 versus 11 digit distinction will preserve a way of knowing the difference. Not announced: what will happen to the (relatively few) cases where local and extended area calls within an NPA are currently dialed with 1 + 10 digits due to code duplication. They'll probably be reduced to 7 digits. Greg Monti, National Public Radio, Washington, DC +1 202 822-2459