At 01:44 PM 27.3.2001 +0200, you wrote:
>I think America requires you to add "1" at the beginning; though it's not
>part of the area/STD code as the 0 is in England and Germany, I think
>most places require it to show you're dialling a long-distance call.
Correct. Standard format is an implicit 1, a three digit area code, a three digit
local code and a four digit extension. The local code & extension are always
mandatory, so effectively phone numbers are 7 digits long -- the local code is just
useful to give a rough idea where the number may be base (but then with cell phones
it's meaningless, so the original purpose, already diluted, is disappearing).
We're burning through phone numbers very very quickly, to the point that new area
codes are being added all the time and as a result people's phone numbers are changing
all the time. To control the hemmoraging, some areas are going to full ten digit phone
numbers; we'll see how much it helps.
In any event, the leading 1 is never part of the phone number, but you always have to
dial it whenever making a "long distance" call. This used to mean anything beyond a
certain distance from your local calling area &/or anything outside of your area code,
but with 10 digit numbers you'll probably just have to put it in front of about every
number dialled, thus giving everyone in the country an 11 digit phone number.
--
Chris Devers [EMAIL PROTECTED]
