A Question About 'Dial 1' in USA Calling

[Dan Popescu]

Patrick,

I wanna ask you a question if that's OK. First I should tell you that
I live in Europe. It's not clear to me: when you make an interstate
call within the US is it necessary to dial 1 before the area code and
number or can you dial just area code + number? What about when
calling Canada or other NANPA country -- is the country code 1
necessary?

Thanks:)

Dan

[TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: When _YOU_ in Europe and elsewhere dial
the USA you use '1' as our _country code_ (which includes Canada, USA,
various Carribbean places, etc.) When _WE_ here in these same places
dial '1' it is between any two _area codes_ which are different. The
general rule is we have to dial '1' between any two area codes in any
of those places. Between USA states (and sometimes in the same _large_
city in the USA), USA and Canada, USA and Carribbean, no matter where,
if my areacode is NNN and your area is XXX then we use '1' to call the
other area code. Our _area codes_ in the USA/Canada are roughly
eqivalent to what you call 'city codes' in Europe, or maybe, since so
many of your countries are very small compared to our states/provinces
(in Canada), our 'area codes' are eqivilent to your 'country codes'.

It is NOT that we are 'dialing our country code' (as you are doing to
reach us) but that we are telling the telephone switches to expect ten
more digits from us rather than simply seven digits total, meaning a
different area code will be included in the numeric address. And when
we call any of _you in Europe_ or elewhere in the world, we have to
use the prefix '011' to tell the switches what we want to do.

I will admit the international telephone dialing system is a bit
American-centric and biased where '1' is concerned with USA calling.
You mentioned earlier and requested a link for your 'callingabroad.com'
pages which is now installed in our links here.
http://telecom-digest.org/links.html . As you develop those pages
further, feel free to ask our experts here for advice as needed. And
readers, please check out 'international calling' on our links page
for some interesting interesting information. PAT]

[h***@bbs.cpcn.com]

Post by Dan Popescu
I wanna ask you a question if that's OK. First I should tell you that
I live in Europe. It's not clear to me: when you make an interstate
call within the US is it necessary to dial 1 before the area code and
number or can you dial just area code + number?
[TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: The general rule is we have to dial
'1' between any two area codes in any of those places.

Not necessarily. Rules vary from place to place depending on legacy
dialing procedures and contemporary needs. Some places need to dial
only seven digits even when crossing an area code boundary. Other
places must dial ten digits even within their own area code. It's
very complicated.

I believe today's system is set up so that you can dial 1+area
code+7digits regardless of where you're calling and if the area code
is needed or not.

My region, for example, has 10 digit dialing. If I call a different
area code (overlay or adjacent) within my region, whether it is a toll
call or not, I do not need the "1". If I go outside the region I do
need the 1.

There's a artificially defined border known as the LATA, which
separates local from toll calls; that is, calls handled by the local
telephone company vs. calls handled by a "long distance" company.
Anyway, some area codes span multiple LATAs. That is, one can dial
only seven digits yet be charged for a long distance call. Other area
codes are very small or even overlays for the same region.

The above mess is a result of (1) divesture of long distance from the
once central Bell System, and (2) competition in local phone service
resulting in an explosion of exchanges which in turn required many new
area codes.

In the old days, the "1" was not universal. Area codes originally had
a middle digit of only 1 or 0 and exchanges did not have a 1 or 0 as
the middle digit. By this standard the switchgear could distinguish
the type of call.

The "1" prefix was used for two reasons: 1) to serve as a toll alert.
In my area, making a toll call within the same area code required a 1,
that is, 1+7 digits. 2) To serve as a long distance signal to the
switchgear. While the switchgear didn't actually need the 1, having
it made circuitry simpler for some exchanges. (Some places used other
codes). As mentioned, not all places required the 1, you just dialed
the ten digits.

There is also the 0 prefix (0+ac+7d) which is used to signify operator
assistance, such as for collect, 3rd party billing, person to person,
time and charges, credit card.

The concept of a "toll alert" is somewhat obsolete because of the
great variety of billing plans. I have national unlimited, so
theorectically I don't need the 1 at all. But obviously some people
have a la carte plans.

[Mark Crispin]

Post by Dan Popescu
I wanna ask you a question if that's OK. First I should tell you that
I live in Europe. It's not clear to me: when you make an interstate
call within the US is it necessary to dial 1 before the area code and
number or can you dial just area code + number?

The 1 prefix in the NANPA countries is equivalent to the 0 prefix in most
other countries; it prefixes an area code (city code).

The 10 prefix is followed by a company code and the number, to route the
call through some other carrier than the phone's default.

The 0 prefix is used as well. Followed by a 10-digit NANPA number, it
indicates alternative charging (credit card, third-party billing, etc.)
and/or "operator assistance" within the NANPA. Followed by 1, a country
code, and a number in that country, it indicates alternative charging for
an international (outside NANPA) call. Followed by 11, a country code,
and a number in that country, it indicates direct dialing for an
international call.

At one time 0 by itself used to get you the local operator, and 00 got you
the default long distance operator. I don't know if these still exist.

Post by Dan Popescu
What about when calling Canada or other NANPA country -- is the
country code 1 necessary?

All calls within the NANPA are dialled as local or long distance
calls. As seen above, it's impossible to reference country code 1
within the NANPA. Intra-NANPA calls are treated as long-distance
calls, even if they are international.

-- Mark --

http://staff.washington.edu/mrc
Science does not emerge from voting, party politics, or public debate.
Si vis pacem, para bellum.