msb@sq.sq.com (Mark Brader) (07/27/89)
Lisa Smith (lisa@mips.com) wrote the following in an article in (the Usenet newsgroup) rec.humor.d: > That prefix, 555, isn't fictional everywhere. One of my school friends > said that his grandfather's phone number, somewhere in South Dakota, is > a 555 number. He said that it was to his knowledge the only place in > the U.S. that it was a real prefix though. Someone else said that if this was ever true it isn't now. What do the experts say? -- Mark Brader "Well, I didn't completely test it, and SoftQuad Inc., Toronto of course there was a power failure the utzoo!sq!msb, msb@sq.com next day." -- Louis J. Judice
klb@lzaz.att.com (K.BLATTER) (07/29/89)
In article <telecom-v09i0259m03@vector.dallas.tx.us>, msb@sq.sq.com (Mark Brader) writes: > Lisa Smith (lisa@mips.com) wrote the following in an article in > (the Usenet newsgroup) rec.humor.d: > > > That prefix, 555, isn't fictional everywhere. One of my school friends > > said that his grandfather's phone number, somewhere in South Dakota, is > > a 555 number. He said that it was to his knowledge the only place in > > the U.S. that it was a real prefix though. > > Someone else said that if this was ever true it isn't now. > What do the experts say? I don't know if I would qualify myself as an expert, but I have a listing of every prefix in the North American Dialing Area and there is no exchange which uses 555 as a prefix. (Some parts of the listing are a couple of years old, so I guess that it's not really complete. Other parts, however, are very much up to date.) Kevin L. Blatter AT&T - Bell Labs Disclaimer - This information has absolutely nothing to do with my position with AT&T. [Moderator's Note: On a hunch, after the first message on this topic appeared, I tried dialing 701-555-various in North Dakota. Most combinations other than '1212' were answered 'Northwestern Bell, may I help you?' PT]
msb@sq.sq.com (Mark Brader) (08/02/89)
> Lisa Smith (lisa@mips.com) wrote the following in an article in > (the Usenet newsgroup) rec.humor.d: > That prefix, 555, isn't fictional everywhere. One of my school friends > said that his grandfather's phone number, somewhere in South Dakota, is > a 555 number. He said that it was to his knowledge the only place in > the U.S. that it was a real prefix though. > Someone else said that if this was ever true it isn't now. > What do the experts say? > [Moderator's Note: On a hunch, after the first message on this topic > appeared, I tried dialing 701-555-various in North Dakota. Most > combinations other than '1212' were answered 'Northwestern Bell, may I help > you?' PT] Why did you try in NORTH Dakota? [Moderator's Note: No particular reason....just some at random dialing. I notice that Illinois Bell has quite a few numbers <>1212 plugged off now. F'rinstance, anyplace-555-8000, 555-7000 all go to immediate intercept. There are a few in the 'vicinity of' 1212 which wander off to the boondocks somewhere, as in the 701 example. -- Mark Brader, SoftQuad Inc., Toronto, utzoo!sq!msb, msb@sq.com "I'm a little worried about the bug-eater," she said. "We're embedded in bugs, have you noticed?" -- Niven, "The Integral Trees"
johnw@gatech.edu (John Wheeler) (08/02/89)
in reference to: >[Moderator's Note: On a hunch, after the first message on this topic appeared, >I tried dialing 701-555-various in North Dakota. Most combinations other >than '1212' were answered 'Northwestern Bell, may I help you?' PT] This is the kind of thing that peaks my now-mostly-dormant-hacker's- curiosity as to: Is there an assignment, internally, of 555- numbers to inward operators or some such? Or, do they all rollover to 555-1212... what a waste of numbers if they do... -- Turner John Wheeler E N T E R T A I N M E N T ...!gatech!nanovx!techwood!johnw Networks Techwood Library * home of Superstation TBS * TNT * TBS Sports
deej@bellcore.bellcore.com (David Lewis) (08/04/89)
In article <telecom-v09i0259m03@vector.dallas.tx.us>, msb@sq.sq.com (Mark Brader) writes: > Lisa Smith (lisa@mips.com) wrote the following in an article in > (the Usenet newsgroup) rec.humor.d: > > > That prefix, 555, isn't fictional everywhere. One of my school friends > > said that his grandfather's phone number, somewhere in South Dakota, is > > a 555 number. He said that it was to his knowledge the only place in > > the U.S. that it was a real prefix though. > > Someone else said that if this was ever true it isn't now. > What do the experts say? The 555 prefix isn't fictional; it's "reserved for special use"; e.g. directory assistance. To quote my favorite source, _Notes on the BOC Intra-LATA Networks -- 1986_ (TR-NPL-000275, April 1986): "In general, the assignment of CO codes within an NPA is handled by the serving BOC... Each assignment should be made ... to the extent that it is feasible in accordance with the following guidelines regarding the sequence of assignment: (1) First-choice codes for CO assignment purposes include all NNX type codes, excluding NN0 codes, and the following seven codes that are currently reserved for special use: "555 -- Toll Directory Assistance 844 -- Time Service 936 -- Weather Service 950 -- Access to Interexchange Carriers under FG (Feature Group) B access arrangements 958 -- Plant Test 959 -- Plant Test 976 -- Information Delivery Service" In other words -- they're not fictional, but it is recommended that they not be assigned to users. Of course, local telcos (including BOCs, but particularly independents) are free to ignore the recommendations. -- David G Lewis ...!bellcore!nvuxr!deej "If this is paradise, I wish I had a lawnmower."