Knowing people by their telephone area codes (416,905,519 etc.)

[Admiral Beez]

I feel sorry for people with 647 (and even more so for 289).

I agree. When I moved to Fredericton, New Brunswick from August 2004 to June 2007 we switched our residential 416 number to a Bell virtual business line under their Single Number Reach service. This way, when we moved back, everyone knew our number already and we didn't have to be one of those 647 losers.

I think the CRTC or whoever control phone number distribution in Canada should have realized that the proliferation of cell phones would quickly consume available 416 numbers, and should have passed a decree that cell phones, regardless of where the registered phone owner resides will have their own special area code, 647 for example. Leaving residential and business land lines as 416. Same goes for business fax machines, as there is no need to have a separate fax number, as any modern office or virtual telephone server can receive either voice or fax to the same number.

 

[EnviroTO]

They should have made old Toronto 647... so us downtown folks could talk about those people in the 416 and 905.

 

[jaborandi]

It wasn't enough that I have the 416 area code, I was insistent that I get a 92 exchange which used to be referred to as WAlnut. I miss having real telephone exchange names. It just sounds so much nicer to answer the phone with a cheerful "Walnut double 0 blah blah blah

 

[BUGEYEDBRIT]

we had this issue in London, with 0207(inner london) and 0208(outer london)......outer london snobs were more than happy to pay BT(british telecom) to have an 0207 line, I personally didn't care.
In England mobile phones have do indeed have a separate code, they all start 07...so at least its possible to tell if someone is calling from a landline or not.

 

[simply Dan]

How many area codes does New York City have? Do New Yorkers really care what area code they end up with, since there are so many?

As soon as I get a friend's new phone number, it gets saved into my phone, so in the future I simply select their name and either "mobile" or "home" oblivious of what area code it begins with. Once I pick the name, it calls the number... the actual number or area code is irrelevant, who I'm calling is what matters.

 

[salvius]

Both my residential and cell are 647 numbers; I used to have a 416 number, but when I moved to my new apartment, I got Rogers home phone, and they put me on a 647. I was pretty annoyed about that at first, but I've had the number for over a year, and it doesn't bother me anymore.

 

[Long Island Mike]

Telephone area codes-good discussion all!!!

Everyone: I figured that this would spur debate about area codes that we use-and notice-all the time to communicate. Since we are now running out of area codes I am wondering when North America will have to add one digit for either 4-digit area codes or number exchanges. With the plethora of area codes we now have in North America it is sometimes hard to keep track but we are attached-especially to phone numbers and area codes we have had-in some cases for decades-I myself have had the same phone # here on LI for 40 years-inherited from my parents.

SD: One area code that NYC has now is the 646-which only is for cellphones,
computers and other electronic gadgets-non-regular landline phone numbers.

I am going to look up other examples of area codes and overlays as examples to discuss here in a subsequent post. LI MIKE

 

[ganjavih]

Do New Yorkers really care what area code they end up with, since there are so many?

Doesn't 212 have a special status? Wasn't there a Seinfeld episode about that?

 

[JasonParis]

Everyone: I figured that this would spur debate about area codes that we use-and notice-all the time to communicate. Since we are now running out of area codes I am wondering when North America will have to add one digit for either 4-digit area codes or number exchanges. With the plethora of area codes we now have in North America it is sometimes hard to keep track but we are attached-especially to phone numbers and area codes we have had-in some cases for decades-I myself have had the same phone # here on LI for 40 years-inherited from my parents.

There's been some talk in recent years of taking Canada out of the "1" country code and Canada getting its own unique number. This would free up a tonne of numbers in both the U.S. and Canada. Canadians however aren't very receptive to the idea and it seems to have stalled.

Doesn't 212 have a special status? Wasn't there a Seinfeld episode about that?

I think 212 (being the original) still holds some significance. However, all the other codes are pretty much equally status-free.

 

[Long Island Mike]

Some more thoughts about Telephone Numbers and Area Codes...

Everyone: I definitely now realize how much people get attached to their phone numbers and area codes. I want to mention some things concerning this topic:

First: those old-style phone numbers using two letters as a beginning exchange: My 60s phone exchange here on LI-234 was originally known as CE or "Central 4". I noticed that was phased out in the very early 70s. When I started to travel and visit relatives in the Philadelphia and SE PA area-in Area Code 215 by the way-those older phone numbers continued in use but were being gradually phased out to the known 3-digit # exchanges by the early 80s. Coming to mind is perhaps the most famous of the old style #s-
PEnnsylvania 6-5000 (736-5000) the number of a NYC hotel whose name slips by me but I remember reading this number is still in use-it was in the title of a 40s Big Band era swing song.

Second: NYC area codes: I left out 917 and 347-a 718 overlay used in the outer boroughs of NYC-but 917 is used for cellphones and computers,etc. in Manhattan. NYC has as a total of 5 area codes: 212,718,917,347 and 646.

Third: It amazes me to look and see how older area codes have been modified for their area and how other area codes have been added-mostly in recent years. Some examples:

In SE Pennsylvania 215 was once a significant area-notably the Philadelphia and Allentown/Bethlehem/Easton areas especially. That area was split up introducing 610 for the A/B/E area and much of the western suburban PHL area. In time TWO overlays each have been added: 267 and 445 with 215-and 484 and 835 with 610.

Chicago-which once had one of those easy dial area codes-312-which was basically 75 percent of the Chicagoland area except SW areas in AC 815-changed codes with the 708 area code introduced on November 11,1989. Illinois Bell had a huge advertising campaign to introduce the 708 area code-I was visiting in Chicagoland at that time so I remember it well. IB mentions that the new AC will create about 7 million phone numbers. At that point 312 was strictly for the City of Chicago and all other 312 points got 708 then. Since then 312 has been whittled down to just the area around and in Downtown Chicago with other City areas getting AC 773. Added to the suburbs since were ACs 630 and 847 with 224 as an overlay. What was one area code before late 1989 now is 6 area codes today.

I have decided to use an example of a state that has changed much in recent years in the way of area codes: OHIO. OH once had 4 area codes basically representing the four quadrants of the State: 216 NE;419 NW;614 SE and 513 SW. OH has 10 area codes today-and has been split up as I noticed on a recent AC map: 216 now represents only the City of Cleveland today as 440 surrounds it and 330-and a 234 overlay-represent outer areas that were once part of 216. 419 in NW OH now has a 567 overlay. 614 now represents Franklin County and Greater Columbus with the 740 area code surrounding it in former 614 territory. 513 in SW OH now represents only the Greater Cincinnati area I believe-former 513 areas like Dayton have the 937 AC now.

In closing there definitely is some sort of prestige keeping older phone numbers and area codes-that may be lost someday if another digit is added to phone numbers to allow many millions more of them to be used. Only time will tell to see if this actually happens...Opinions and insight from LI MIKE

 

[Long Island Mike]

Some more Area Code examples-New Jersey and Pennsylvania...

Everyone: I was looking at a current Area Code map and I want to add some more examples on the increase in phone number use in recent years:

I will start with Pennsylvania-I mentioned the 215 AC last time. In other PA areas AC 717 once represented a substantial portion of E central and NE PA. AC 570 was introduced when this area was split up for NE PA-areas like the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre area and cities and areas like Lancaster and Harrisburg kept 717. The other large PA area code-814 covers W Central and NW PA and includess cities like Erie.
In SW PA-AC 412 now only represents Pittsburgh and parts of Allegheny County-former 412 areas in SW PA got AC 724. A recent overlay code added for both 412 and 724 is 878.
I remember reading a article about PA area codes-and mentioned was that the only safe area code that is not running out of numbers was 814-that was before the double overlays in AC 215 and 610 were instituted.

New Jersey is an interesting case-this small densely populated state had just two area codes - 201 N and 609 S - for many years until recently when the phone number usage grew so fast-201 was split up into ACs 973,908 and 732. 551 was added as a 201 overlay;862 as a 973 overlay and 848 as a 732 overlay.
609 was split up adding the 856 AC. South Jersey for some reason did not consume phone numbers like North Jersey for some reason.
The old way New Jersey was split for ACs 201 and 609 was interesting to me for another reason: Language Accent. There is a distinct difference in accent between people in North Jersey than in South Jersey. That line ran from N of Trenton on the Delaware River going in a diagonal angle from NW to SE across NJ finally cutting to the Atlantic Ocean near Toms River in southern Ocean County. I remember people being referred to having the "201 accent" or the "609 accent" at times.
The 201 accent had a New York influence-especially in the Northern Metropolitan Area (Newark,Jersey City,Paterson)
and that 609 accent had a Philadelphia influence-especially in areas like Camden,Burlington and Gloucester Counties. There were even subdialects like the SJ "Piney" spoken in the S Jersey Pine Barrens area-parts of Ocean,Burlington and Atlantic Counties mainly.
As small a state as NJ is it has distinctly different and diverse areas that are noted somewhat in this manner.

That's enough about NJ(and PA) for now. It's interesting putting these observations in print for all here to read. LI MIKE

 

[M5Vgirl]

Ohhh to have a 212 area code if you are a New Yorker is S-T-A-T-U-S! I've seen people that were moving out of the city sell their phone # on eBay and Craigslist! (Jokes)