goldstein@DONJON.DEC (Fred R. Goldstein) (10/03/85)
New England Telephone in NPA617 uses 1+ according to the "old" rule, where it means "any toll call". Thus, to call my office from Boston, you might dial 1-858-3204. This is a relic but it serves two useful purposes in today's network. First, many step by step offices don't have the smarts to route calls on prefix beyond the local area, so dialing 1 puts the call into a toll trunk right away. There are lots of steppers left in the area, outside Metro Boston (whose new area code won't have any steppers in it.) Second, NET did not use "code protection" for exchanges that are local across area code boundaries. Thus, Salem, NH is 603-893 and a local 7-digit call from Lawrence, MA. Waltham, MA is 617-893 and a toll call. If you dial 1893 from Lawrence, you get Waltham; if you dial 893, you get Salem. The "blue book" rule would have you dial 1603893 to get Salem, even though it's local, and 893 to get Waltham, even though it's toll. Some day they may convert, but it will no doubt result in many misrouted calls for a while. (There are several other prefices in similar situations.)
Frankston@MIT-MULTICS.ARPA (10/08/85)
Note that there is a lot of equipment being sold that assumes that "1-" can be used to indicate toll calls. One extreme are what appear to be toy pay phones that take quarters and only allow local calls. In fact some of these are actually used in small stores and restaurants. Well, at least I've seen one. On a related topic, I am still awaiting the ability to use "1-617" within 617.
cmoore@BRL.ARPA (Carl Moore, VLD/VMB) (10/09/85)
But does 1603893 from Lawrence, MA get Salem, NH now? Local service from Newark, Del. picks up 2 prefixes in 215 area in Pa. (255 Kemblesville and 274 Landenberg). 1+ one of these Pa. prefixes gets error recording (i.e. no 255 or 274 in Del., area 302). 274 was/is "protected" anyway because it's local to Wilmington (where 302-478 in Talleyville area did not require 1+ as a of a few years ago). 1215 + one of these Pa. prefixes should go thru, but probably has to go thru more equipment. 0+ calls do require the area code. FROM those 2 Pa. prefixes: 368 and 453 are Newark, Del.; 1368 is Lansdale, Pa.; 1453 is Perkasie, Pa. (recent!). (The oldest Newark prefix is 302- 368, as I noted in this Digest very recently.)