jejones@ea.UUCP (06/15/84)
#N:ea:4000004:000:421 ea!jejones Jun 15 15:14:00 1984 Alas, I do not know the answer to this, but I'm hoping someone does-- is there a canonical (if not official) name for the low-order four digits of a telephone number? I would suppose that the high-order three (which used to have picturesque names) are still referred to as the "exchange," but I've never heard anyone call the low-order digits anything. Responses summarized after a plausible delay... James Jones
tps@homxa.UUCP (T.SCHROEDER) (06/19/84)
The Telephone Discount Concession forms we fill out have names for all parts
of the phone number:
(AAA)EEE-LLLL
AAA - area code, EEE - exchange, LLLL - line number.
Tim.
jejones@ea.UUCP (06/22/84)
#R:ea:4000004:ea:4000006:000:161 ea!jejones Jun 22 10:16:00 1984 Many thanks to all who responded. The answers I got were "line number" "station number" "number" "Line number" was mentioned most often. James Jones
hess@fortune.UUCP (Marty Hess) (07/03/84)
I always thought that only the first two digits of the seven were the
'exchange', and the next FIVE were the 'line number'. Examples: TYler 8-6100;
MOnroe 6-8365; CLayton 2-1324; . . .. These are from back in the days when
exchanges were named, and numbers were remembered as words.
The reason for the total of seven digits (as I'm sure we all know...) is the
"7 +/- 2" rule of the capacity of human memory for arbitrary items.
The reason for the 'break' in the sequence was a similar one: items grouped as
'fives' took just as much work to remember as the whole collection. They also
tended to represent numbers larger than the average person was casual with.
Hence when grouped as they now are, they represented 'normal' word sequences for
number values, with a universal pause point. (From the examples above:)
Tyler eight, six one hundred
Monroe six, eighty three sixty five
Clayton two, thirteen twenty four
I noticed just as I read these back that they seem to sound like scores
from a sports event. (e.g. Tigers nine, Yankees two.) Do they strike anyone
else this way?
--
"As usual Mr. Phelps, none of the preceding has any basis in fact."
Marty Hess Software Engineer - Graphics
UUCP: {sri-unix, amd, hpda, harpo, ihnp4, allegra}!fortune!hess
DDD: (415) 595-8444
USPS: Fortune Systems Corp, 101 Twin Dolphin Pkwy, Redwood Shores, CA 940653215rfs@hogpd.UUCP (R.SOYACK) (07/04/84)
The first the first three (and not two) numbers of a phone number identify the exchange and the last four numbers indicate the terminating line number. I am sure of this since I worked, for two and a half years, as a switchman with the N. Y. Telephone Company. The numbers were used as follows (the equipment refered to is No. 1 Crossbar but the theory is general): The entire dialed number is stored in the originating sender as the user dials. The sender passes the first three numbers (for simplicity I am assumming that a seven digit number was dialed) to the originating marker, and the originating marker determines the proper route for the call (from three possible routes). When a route is established between the originating and terminating offices the originating sender sends the terminating line number (the last four digits) to the terminating sender. The terminating sender uses the last four numbers to establish the final part of the connection to the terminating line number. The way you say the number doesn't matter cause the machine ain't gonna hear it anyway. Rich Soyack
schatz@bambi.UUCP (Bruce R. Schatz) (07/04/84)
according to the official source "Engineering and Operations in the Bell System" from which all we old telephone engineers learned our stuff, telephone numbers are divided into two parts: exchange (3 digits) and line (4 digits). as mentioned in earlier messages, station is a variant name of line. the exchange identifies the central office and the line identifies the subscriber line. the old alphabetic code were indeed cheery but didn't correspond to the internal use which was always 3 and 4 not 2 and 5.
ron@brl-tgr.ARPA (Ron Natalie <ron>) (07/06/84)
Wrong. The exchange is the first three numbers and still is. In the past they were referred to as the HOBART 7 exchange, for example. Look at the way your telephone numbers are allocated. The numbers in a particular area share the first 3 numbers. If your hypothesis were correct then I would expect to see numbers like 554-3343 555-1111 and 556-3431 in the same area and you don't. The exchanges that served my area in Baltimore were 338, 467, 243, 235, and 889. Since this area was around JHU I would guess that the 467 is HOPKINS 7. I don't know about 235 but it may have been CENTRAL 5. -Ron PEnnsylvania 6-5000.
Anonymous@inmet.UUCP (07/17/84)
#R:fortune:-373800:inmet:14100020:000:519
inmet!Anonymous Jul 9 13:36:00 1984
{}
I would also agree that the first three numbers were the exchange numbers.
In fact, in the old days when names were used in the exchanges, the predominant
third digits of an exchange were actually whatever the third letter would
have been. Using the Baltimore example, HOpkins 7 is the same as HOPkins
( 7= PRS ); PLaza 2 == PLAza ( 2= ABC ); MAdison 3 ; FOrest 7. This was
not a firm rule, based on anomalies I've seen: Fayette 8, Central 5.
The Organ Keyboard of
Jerryl Payne
{ihnp4,esquire,harpo}!inmet!jlpgds@mit-eddie.UUCP (Greg Skinner) (07/21/84)
I imagine the two letters standing for something (like BEechwood 5-7349,
is that the correct title?) are used for easier alphabetic naming. When
I was a lot younger, they didn't always go by exchange codes in
telephone books ... it would not be uncommon to see something like
LAurelton 5-1212.
--
Those who know me have no need for my name.
Greg Skinner (gregbo)
{decvax!genrad, eagle!mit-vax, allegra!banyan, whuxle, ihnp4}!mit-eddie!gdsgino@voder.UUCP (Gino Bloch) (07/23/84)
You guys are all too young. When I was a kid, my grandparents number was AL-5007 (for ALleghany). That was in Philadelphia, PA, not a small town. Later it became AL-4-5007, which isn't short for ALL. My gp's didn't live long enough to see all-number phone numbers. Also, I don't remember my own phone #'s from that era (WWII), but I remember 6 characters in Baltimore too. So I hypothesize that exchanges were 2 characters then. (By the way - in Newport, RI, in the mid to late 50's, you could omit the exchange (VI, later VI-7) and dial just the 4 digits.)
wetcw@pyuxa.UUCP (T C Wheeler) (07/27/84)
Gino's too young too:-) I remember giving just four numbers to an Operator to place a phone call. You could even ask for places like city hall, the fire department, or police by saying "Give me the Police", just like in the old movies. There were no dial phones. We didn't get dial until the late 40s. Ah nostalgia. T. C Wheeler
lee@unmvax.UUCP (07/29/84)
Interesting... It was pointed out that at one time you could
give just four numbers to place your call and you could ask
for the police dept. and be connected without having to ever
know the number. Well, GOOD NEWS! As of five years ago (haven't checked
since..) these practices lived on into modern times (i.e past 1960).
I lived in a small town called Truth or Consequences, New Mexico. All of
the above was still in practice. Now, before you start going "oh this is
a joke" let me say it is not. The town REALLY does exist. It used to be
called Hot Springs but the T.V. show (you remember that one?) had
a deal whereby any town that would change it's name to Truth or Consequences
would get the benefit of a visit by Mr. Bob Barker (sp?) yearly.
Well, in any case this town decided to go for it and they are still
receiving visits by past MC's from the show. The "fiesta" is held in the
late spring and includes a beauty contest, parade and all the quaint
things a small American town would have for such a, relatively, big deal.
It really wasn't that bad of a place to spend ones high school years...
Now that's trivia!
--
--Lee (Ward)
{ucbvax,convex,gatech,pur-ee}!unmvax!lee