Lois & Clark Forums Forums General Discussion Off Topic U.S.A. phone numbers

Hi!

I have a question, but I don't know how to express it...

Well let's give it a shot.

I would like to know how are the phone numbers in the U.S.A.: how many digits they have, if they always begin with a particular number (and if so if anyone knows what this number for New Troy is <g>) etc..

I'm asking for both types of telephones: cell phones and the other ones we have at home (I don't know what to call them).

Thank you.
AnnaBtG.

Okay, I am not sure if this answers your question or not. Cellular phones and home phones have the same numbering system.

Local calls within the same area code:
- seven numbers
- no area code needed
ex. 555-1234

Long Distance calls, or local calls within the same area code (ex. Cleveland has 3 area codes which are still considered "local". Because of cell phones, numbers are being taken up very quickly so new area codes are added. Bigger cities have even more area codes than just three).
- dial the number 1 first (I believe that identifies that you are calling a US number)
- then dial the area code (ex. I live in the area code 440, Cleveland's other two area codes are 216 and 330).

ex. 1-440-555-1234

You call numbers the same way with a cell phone or a regular home phone.

a 555 extension is used in television and movies as a "fake" number.

So since New Troy is fake, I think it's safe to make up your own area code, and I think it is also safe to use the 555 exchange as your first three numbers.

ex. Cell phone number (area code)555-1234
Home phone number (area code)555-3457
or something.

Hope this helps,
- Alicia

Anna,

US phone numbers have ten digits: the three digit area code, a dash, then three digits, a dash and then four numbers-- 123-456-7890. The area code indicates the state (eg. 501).
Unless of course, you wanna call someone collect, in which case things get complicated : there's 10-10-220, or if you watch those idiotic Carrot Top ads, 1-800-C-A-L-L-A-T-T.
Used to be that one could tell where a person was from(specific city or town) by looking at the second three numbers, but with cell phones, now it's anyone's guess !
Hope this helps.

Well, yes and no. 11-digit dialing of a U.S. number will only work within the U.S. itself and, iirc, Canada (and maybe Mexico?). Anywhere else, you not only need a country code, which is indeed 1, but also the 011 prefix that indicates out-of-country calls.

More info can be found here.

Hi,

We also USA, we work like this.

Long distance: 1 (787) XXX-XXXX
Local call: (787) XXX-XXXX

1= Long Distance
(787) or (785)= Area code
XXX = City where I live
XXXX = My number

Cellular is the same, the different is the first XXX number that are only use for cellular in my city.

Long distance: 1 (787) XXX-XXXX
Local call: (787) XXX-XXXX

MAF

There's something else...The farm towns across the bay from me have the same area code as I do, but for some reason, I have to dial 1-251-blah blah blah. I have absolutely no clue why.

Jen

I live in a fairly large city (a big suburb of Cleveland) and there is no one number to identify our city. In Parma, our first three numbers (after the area code) are 884, 885, 886, 845, 842, 651,... there are tons of possible numbers - and cell phones are the same way.

The only thing I know where all of the first three numbers are the same are my school:
dormatories: 1-216-754-xxxx
campus: 1-216-368-xxxx
university hospitals: 1-216-xxx-xxxx
cleveland clinic: 1-216-444-xxxx

So big campuses all have one exchange, but individual cities do not.

At least in Cleveland, we have to dial the 1 if we dial the area code. For example, I live in a city that has an area code split down the center of the city. If I call my next door neighbor, I do not have to use the area code, I can just call xxx-xxxx, but if I wanted to call my grandfather's house on the other side of town, I have to dial 1-216-xxx-xxxx even though it is still a local call. Likewise, if I call my office at Case, I have to dial 1-216-368-xxxx.

It is the same for my cell phone (which is a 440 area code) and my house (also a 440 area code).


Maybe because they are long distance? I'm not sure. Before Cleveland split into 3 area codes, we used to have to dial 1-216-xxx-xxxx to get my aunt who lived around Youngstown because even though we had the same area code, they were long distance.

- Alicia

Just wanted to let you know:

Here in Texas (at least in the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex I live in) we have to dial the area code to all calls, if they are local or not. I heard that it's quite strange, that it's uncommon in the U.S., but that how it works here. For example, my home area code is 817. If I want to call a friend that lives in this same city, I have to dial 817-XXX-XXXX. If I want to make a call to someone in Dallas, I would have to dial 972-XXX-XXXX, and so forth. Now, for long distances, I have to dial the 1 first, and then the area code and phone number.

Go figure.

malu

Okay. Area codes are large regions, the 2nd set of numbers are small areas, the last 4 are individual residences.

Everyone's covered pretty much everything else (which, personally, I found confusing, but it's also too early). However, there is now something called 10-digit-dialing. The Charlotte NC area has gotten too big for it's britches, so they overlayed a new area code on top of the old one. This means while I have a 704 area code, my neighbor might have the new one (680 or something like that). So now we have to dial area code + phone number, no 1. More and more areas are having to do this, as phone numbers run out. I'm not sure if this would be in effect anywhere during the show, though.

Alicia, I'm surprised you have to dial the 1 for such a small distance. Have you tried it without the 1? I know I can call South Carolina, 10 miles away, without the 1 in front of it. But that may be because of my extended local service.

Actually, if you live in a rural area, any call made to another small town is a long distance call.

If I call my uncle in Donnellson from my Dad's house in Fort Madision, it is a long distance call even thought those they are long 10 miles apart. Even West Point, which is less than 5 miles outside of Fort Madison city limits is a long distance call.

Everything was easier before 1990. Pior to that you could always tell if you had the area code or the city number by the middle digit. Area codes always had a 1 or 0 for the middle digit and city numbers never had a 1 or 0 for the middle digit.

It is soo confusing now a days...

James

Yeah, I liked the old days... and the only "free" long distance calls were 1-800. There was a bit of a downside, though -- I could never remember if Philadelphia was 215 or 205 -- and several times when I tried to call my boyfriend, I did it wrong and disturbed a nice lady down in Arkansas...

PJ

And all this added confusion can be blamed on one thing... Computers. Or more accurately computer modems.

The expanded need for extra lines due to the proliferation of computers and their need for access to the internet and each other has been the reason for the added area codes and ten-digit dialing within the same metropolitan area. They've just run out of numbers to use.

I remember when there were 3 area codes for our entire state. Now there are 3 just for Minneapolis and the surrounding suburbs. And St. Paul has it's own.

Tank (who thinks that any needed phone number for a story can be manufactured to taste because no one will really care, and hopefully no one will try to call it)

Thank you all very much!!

Well, I guess you're right

AnnaBtG.

just to add a bit of incidental information, there are a few numbers that are reserved.

911 is for emergencies.. dial it almost anywhere in the country, and you'll be connected to the local police dispatcher, who can then send the police, one or more ambulances, one or more fire trucks, or some combination thereof. for safety's sake, there is no area code 911, and there are no other phone numbers that start with 911.

similarly, 411 gets you information. dial it almost anywhere in the country, and you'll be connected to an operator who can look up phone numbers for you. so, there is no area code 411 and there are no numbers that start with 411.

beyond that, 555 is reserved. there are no numbers that start with 555 except for 555-1212, which gets you an operator in that area code (so 617-555-1212 would get you an operator in the 617 area code, who could then look up numbers in that area code for you). because there are no numbers starting with 555 (and i don't think there's a 555 area code, either), numbers in movies and TV shows almost always have the 555. that way, no one will try to call the character's phone number (or, if they do, they won't get anyone).

there was a joke about that in a movie "last action hero." in the movie, a kid gets pulled into an action movie, and he spends much of it trying to convince the main character that it is a movie. in doing so, they spoof all the cliches ("i know... you'll be back." "how did you know i was about to say that?" "it's your tagline. you say that in all your movies.") relatively early on, he points out that the phone numbers of everyone they meet start with 555. so, he asks, how can it possibly work? that's only 10000 numbers for a city of millions. "duh," the response comes. "that's why we have area codes!"

anyway, there might be a few other reserved numbers. i'm not sure offhand. i just wanted to point these out so you could avoid 911 and 411, and so that you could make your own decision about 555 (go with the TV convention and use it or go with a number that actually exists).

as for metropolis, i'm sure there's some folc who knows the metropolis area code. it has to have been onscreen at some point.

if not, 212 is new york city. 917 was created a few years ago for new york city pagers and cell phones, but they ran out of 212 numbers last year. now there are homes with 917 area codes.

oh... 800, 888, and a couple other numbers are toll free (the person getting the call is charged. some companies pay a flat monthly rate, some are billed by the call). a few people got 800 numbers for their private homes so that their kids could call from college without needing to use a payphone or something like that.

900 is also a special area code. that's for companies that make their money from phone calls... psychics, "party" lines (where they have people, usually women with sexy voices paid to indulge whoever is calling), etc. you're billed more than the usual rate when you call a 900 number, and the extra money goes to the company that owns the number. in "a bolt from the blue," resplendant man had a 900 number.

think that's about it. hope some of this helped.

Paul

You're not the only one, Pam. I was trying to call my mom in Southern Illinois one time about 9 am Eastern. Now, the area code there is 618, but our old street address in Illinois was 619 S. Jackson, so I would occasionally get them confused. I tried calling my mom, and woke up some poor guy in California at 6am PST, which is the 619 area code.

Thanks, James, it's been awhile since I've lived in a rural area. And Tank, got two examples for you. The song Jenny (867-530 niiiiiiiiiiine) and Bruce Almighty. Yes, that's a recent movie, and people still called the phone number listed of God even though it was a movie. But FoLCs are smarter, right?

There is and it was! In the first season in the episode Barbarians at the Planet Lois is ordering some shoes out of a catalouge and she gives the area code for her phone number as "217".

The reason I remembered this is "217" is the area code for central Illinois.

Hope that helps!

Birdie

Yes, Birdie, it helps! Thank you!

AnnaBtG.