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TELECOM Digest Guide to
North American Area Codes
=========================
January 16, 1989
FIRST, PLEASE TAKE NOTE THAT the information appearing herein has been
placed in the public domain. It can be copied and distributed freely.
While prepared for, and intended as a service to the USENET community,
anyone is free to copy it and use/distribute it. Please credit TELECOM
Digest, and our correspondents named herein in any republication.
This guide is in several parts:
1) Numerical listing of area codes; major cities served by each or
state name, where area code serves entire state or province.
2) Listing and discussion of SAC's (Special Area Codes) which do
not relate to the voice telephone network or do relate to the
voice network but have no specific geographical region assigned.
3) Numerical listing of prefixes in 'area code' 800 (the code used
for In-WATS 'toll-free' calling) and telephone carrier which is
assigned to each.
4) Numerical listing of prefixes in 'area code' 900 (the code used
for value added information services) and the telephone company
or IP (Information Provider) which operates each group of lines.
5) A translation table for the names of the companies involved.
6) A technical discussion of the processing of 700/800/900 calls.
7) A glossary of technical terms used throughout the guide.
To ascertain the name of a community assigned to any particular prefix
other than 700/800/900 -- that is to say, a 'regular' area code, simply
dial the AT&T Operator at 10288-0 (or simply '00' if AT&T is your default
long distance carrier. Ask the operator for the 'name-place' of the area
code and prefix in question. There is no charge for this service.
The persons named at the start of each item in the guide are responsible
for the accuracy of the contents therein. We hope this guide to area codes
in North America will be useful information for Usenetters using the phone.
============================================================================
To: comp-dcom-telecom@rutgers.edu
From: dupuy@cs.columbia.edu (Alexander Dupuy)
Subject: Area Code Numerical Listings
Date: 13 Jan 89 22:11:51 GMT
You don't need a C program to translate area codes into placenames: this script
does the trick just as well, and it's easy to modify when they change:
@alex
==============================================================================
#!/bin/sh
'exec' /usr/bin/look "$1" "$0"
011 [ International Access Code ]
201 Morristown, and Newark, (Northeast) New Jersey
202 Washington, District of Columbia
203 All parts of Connecticut
204 All parts of Manitoba, CANADA
205 All parts of Alabama
206 Seattle, Tacoma, and Vancouver, (Western) Washington
207 All parts of Maine
208 All parts of Idaho
209 Fresno and Stockton, (Central) California
212 New York City (Manhattan and Bronx) New York
213 Los Angeles, California
214 Dallas, (Northeast) Texas
215 Allentown, Chester, and Philadelphia, (Southeast) Pennsylvania
216 Akron, Cleveland, Massillon, and Youngstown, (Northeast) Ohio
217 Springfield, (South Central) Illinois
218 Duluth, (Northern) Minnesota
219 Gary, Hammond, Michigan City, and South Bend, (Northwest) Indiana
301 All parts of Maryland
302 All parts of Delaware
303 Denver, (North and West) Colorado
304 All parts of West Virginia
305 Fort Lauderdale, Key West and Miami, (Southeast) Florida
306 All parts of Saskatchewan, CANADA
307 All parts of Wyoming
308 North Platte, (Western) Nebraska
309 Peoria, (West Central) Illinois
312 Chicago, Illinois
313 Detroit and Ann Arbor, (Eastern) Michigan
314 Saint Louis and Columbia, (Eastern) Missouri
315 Syracuse and Utica, (North Central) New York
316 Dodge City and Wichita, (Southern) Kansas
317 Indianapolis and Kokomo, (Central) Indiana
318 Lake Charles and Shreveport, (Western) Louisiana
319 Dubuque, (Eastern) Iowa
401 All parts of Rhode Island
402 Lincoln and Omaha, (Eastern) Nebraska
403 All parts of Alberta, CANADA
404 Atlanta and Rome, (Northern) Georgia
405 Oklahoma City, (South and West) Oklahoma
406 All parts of Montana
407 Orlando, West Palm Beach, (Eastern) Florida
408 San Jose and Sunnyvale, (Silicon Valley) California
409 Galveston, (Southeast) Texas
411 [ Directory Assistance ]
412 Pittsburgh, (Western) Pennsylvania
413 Springfield, (Western) Massachusetts
414 Green Bay, Milwaukee, and Racine, (Eastern) Wisconsin
415 Oakland and San Francisco, (Bay Area) California
416 Toronto, (South Central) Ontario, CANADA
417 Joplin and Springfield, (Southwest) Missouri
418 Quebec City, (Northeast) Quebec, CANADA
419 Toledo, (Northwest) Ohio
501 All parts of Arkansas
502 Louisville and Paducah, (Western) Kentucky
503 All parts of Oregon
504 Baton Rouge and New Orleans, (Eastern) Louisiana
505 All parts of New Mexico
506 All parts of New Brunswick, CANADA
507 Rochester, (Southern) Minnesota
508 Worcester, Framingham and New Bedford, (Eastern) Massachusetts
509 Spokane, and Walla Walla, (Eastern) Washington
512 Austin, Corpus Christi, and San Antonio, (Southern) Texas
513 Cincinnati and Dayton, (Southwest) Ohio
514 Montreal, (Southern) Quebec, CANADA
515 Des Moines, (Central) Iowa
516 Hempstead, (Long Island) New York
517 Lansing and Saginaw, (Central) Michigan
518 Albany and Schenectady, (Northeast) New York
519 London, (Southwest) Ontario, CANADA
601 All parts of Mississippi
602 All parts of Arizona
603 All parts of New Hampshire
604 All parts of British Columbia, CANADA
605 All parts of South Dakota
606 Ashland and Covington, (Eastern) Kentucky
607 Binghamton, Elmira and Ithaca, (South Central) New York
608 Beloit and Madison, (Southwest) Wisconsin
609 Atlantic City, Camden, and Trenton, (Southwest) New Jersey
611 [ Repair Service ]
612 Minneapolis and Saint Paul, (Central) Minnesota
613 Ottawa, (Southeast) Ontario, CANADA
614 Columbus, (Southeast) Ohio
615 Chattanooga and Nashville, (Eastern) Tennessee
616 Battle Creek, and Grand Rapids, (Western) Michigan
617 Boston area, (Eastern) Massachusetts
618 Alton and Centralia, (Southern) Illinois
619 San Diego and the Imperial Valley, California
701 All parts of North Dakota
702 All parts of Nevada
703 Arlington and Roanoke, (North and Western) Virginia
704 Charlotte and Salisbury, (Western) North Carolina
705 North Bay, (Northern) Ontario, CANADA
706 Tijuana, (Northwest) MEXICO [equivalent to +52 6X XXX XXX]
707 Eureka, Napa, and Santa Rosa, (North Coastal) California
708 Aurora, Elgin, Evanston, and Waukegan (Northeast) Illinois (as of 11-89)
709 All parts of Newfoundland and Labrador, CANADA
712 Council Bluffs, (Western) Iowa
713 Houston, Texas
714 Orange County and Palm Springs, California
715 Eau Claire and Wausau, (Northern) Wisconsin
716 Buffalo, Niagara Falls, and Rochester, (Western) New York
717 Harrisburg, Scranton, and Wilkes-Barre, (Central) Pennsylvania
718 New York City (Queens, Brooklyn and Staten Island) New York
719 Colorado Springs and Pueblo, (Southeast) Colorado
801 All parts of Utah
802 All parts of Vermont
803 All parts of South Carolina
804 Charlottesville, Norfolk, and Richmond, (Southeast) Virginia
805 Bakersfield, Ventura, and Simi Valley, (South Central) California
806 Amarillo, (Northern) Texas
807 Thunder Bay, (Northwest) Ontario, CANADA
808 All parts of Hawaii
809 Bahamas, Bermuda, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands
812 Evansville, (Southern) Indiana
813 Fort Myers and St. Petersburg, (Southwest) Florida
814 Altoona and Erie, (West Central) Pennsylvania
815 Joliet, and Rockford, (Northwest) Illinois
816 Kansas City and Saint Joseph, (Northwest) Missouri
817 Fort Worth, Temple, and Waco, (North Central) Texas
818 San Fernando (Suburban area near Los Angeles), California
819 Sherbrooke (South Central and Northwest) Quebec, CANADA
901 Memphis, (Western) Tennesee
902 All parts of Prince Edward Island and Nova Scotia, CANADA
903 * Unassigned *
904 Jacksonville, (Northeast) Florida
905 Mexico City, (Northern) MEXICO [equivalent to +52 5 XXX XXXX]
906 Sault Ste. Marie, (Northern) Michigan
907 All parts of Alaska
908 * Unassigned *
909 * Unassigned *
911 [ Police/Fire Emergency Service ]
912 Macon and Savannah, (Southern) Georgia
913 Salina and Topeka, (Northern) Kansas
914 White Plains, and Poughkeepsie, (Southern) New York
915 El Paso, (Western) Texas
916 Sacramento, (Northern) California
917 * Unassigned *
918 Muskogee and Tulsa, (Northeast) Oklahoma
919 Greenville, Raleigh, and Winston Salem, (Eastern) North Carolina
--
--
inet: dupuy@columbia.edu
uucp: ...!rutgers!columbia!dupuy
------------------------------
Date: Sun, 15 Jan 89 10:39:19 EST
From: telecom@bu-cs.BU.EDU (TELECOM Moderator)
To: Telecom@bu-cs.bu.edu
Subject: Supplementary Code Numbers
You may wish to add a few additional codes to the list given above. These three
digit codes are also in use, although they are not, strictly speaking, 'area
codes'. They are not in the chart above since I thought some of you may not
want them there. If you do, then edit them in.
200 Local testing, used by many telcos.
410 Western Union Telegraph Company - Northeastern USA
510 Western Union Telegraph Company - Eastern USA
610 Western Union Telegraph Company - Canada
700 Value Added Information Services, per individual OCC
710 Western Union Telegraph Company - Southern USA
800 In-WATS 'toll free' calling
810 Western Union Telegraph Company - Mexico
900 Mass Calling Information/Value Added Services
909 Telenet Communications Corp. Data Network
910 Western Union Telegraph Company - Western USA (from Chicago westward)
The thing with WUTCO is, many years ago the old Bell System operated Teletype
machines; what they called the TWX (or [T]ype[W]riter E[X]change. The TWX
machines had their own switches, located in existing telephone central
offices, but on separate equipment. About twenty years ago, a court ruling
required Bell to sell its TWX service to Western Union, in a suit brought by
WUTCO against AT&T. WUTCO operated the system as TWX for many years, and in
the past five years has changed the name to Telex II. The Western Union
central offices for Telex I (the original telex network) have always been
in WUTCO offices. The central offices for Telex II (formerly AT&T's TWX) are
still in Bell central offices, although they now belong to WUTCO. Is that
clear?
Telenet's data network uses conventional area code numbering in the way
its switches route calls. Again, there is a lot of telco central office
equipment tied up with hardwired connectons between Telenet and its customers
who have direct connect PADS, etc. Telenet also has gateways into telex and
TWX (or Telex II). 'Area Code' 909 is assigned for billing purposes to the
activities of Telenet. If you use the Telenet network, via indials or
whatever, note that any connection of the form @C 909xxx is a connection to
the Telenet headquarters offices in Reston, VA.
So these codes 410,510,610,710,810 and 909 are occupied and recognized by
the network for purposes other than voice. You cannot dial into them from the
voice network, but they are none the less assigned.
Likewise, AUTOVON, the federal government telephone network, is largely
accomodated through the Bell central offices in every city with federal
government facilities. This part of the overall network was grouped together
under 300 at one time. I am not sure of the code now. No one *actually dials*
300-anything, but the number relates to that function. Calling from the
public switched network to AUTOVON is largely transparent. In calling to a
federal office in Our Nation's Capitol for instance, we can generally dial
202-public-last four *or* we can dial 202-autovon-last four and the call
will go through. That is because autovon and 202 prefixes are not overlapped
or duplicated in many areas.
When the present unassigned area codes of the conventional format have all
been used, sometime around 1992-1995, area codes 210,211,310,311,400,500,511,
600,711 and 811 will be next in line for assignment.
Whether or not you want to include these special numbers in the chart given
in the earlier message depends on if you want strictly a listing of the
- dialable* codes used by the voice network at present, or if you want to
include all *assigned* codes. And while 700-800-900 are not strictly
speaking area codes, my belief is they definitly should be added to the list.
==========================================================================
Date: Mon, 2 Jan 89 20:30:08 EST
From: scotts@bu-it.BU.EDU
To: telecom@bu-it.bu.edu
Subject: 800 Service
As some readers of this list may not know, under Equal Access,
any long-distance company can carry 1-800 traffic. Which carrier gets
the call is determined (at the moment) by the NNX of the number. I.E.
1-800-528-1234 (The nation-wide number for making reservations at a
Best Western Motel) is carried by AT&T. While 1-800-888-1800 is
carried by MCI.
The carrier must have Feature Group D presence for originating
calls from the originating exchange (either direct, or through an
access tandem).
In the future, when CCIS becomes wide-spread, a query will be
made in the database [Who gets 1-800-985-1234?] and the call will be
routed appropriately. To clarify: Now the carrier is determined by
the NNX. In the future, the carrier will be determined by the entire
7 digits.
A similar situation exists with 900 service. Each carrier can
reserve NXX-s from BellCore (the people who among a zillion other
tasks are in charge of handing out prefixes and area codes). They're
not cheap! To get the actual number is free (there are qualifications
that I don't deal with), but to get it 'turned on' in a LATA costs you
money, depending on (1) How many prefixes you're getting, (2) whether
it's 800 or 900 service, (3) How many Tandems/End Offices are in the
LATA. It requires a discrete amount of labor for EACH office, because
EACH routing table must be modified.
Of the 800 possible NXX-s, 409 are currently assigned. A
long-distance carrier can get one 800 and four 900 numbers just for
the paperwork. But to get more than that, you have to show that
you're 70% full now, and demonstrate a real need for the capacity.
I have included the entire 800-NXX to long-distance carrier
translation table. Note that not every NXX is valid in every area.
Revised 800/OCN Translation Table
Effective 10 October 1988
221 ATX 222 ATX 223 ATX 224 LDL 225 ATX
226 MIC 227 ATX 228 ATX 229 TDX 230 NTK
231 ATX 232 ATX 233 ATX 234 MCI 235 ATX
236 SCH 237 ATX 238 ATX 239 DLT 240 SIR
241 ATX 242 ATX 243 ATX 244 --- 245 ATX
246 --- 247 ATX 248 ATX 249 --- 250 ---
251 ATX 252 ATX 253 ATX 254 TTU 255 ATX
256 LSI 257 ATX 258 ATX 259 --- 260 ---
261 SCH 262 ATX 263 CAN 264 ICT 265 CAN
266 CSY 267 CAN 268 CAN 269 FDG 270 ---
271 --- 272 ATX 273 --- 274 MCI 275 ITT
276 ONE 277 SNT 278 --- 279 MAL 280 ADG
281 --- 282 ATX 283 MCI 284 MCI 285 ---
286 --- 287 --- 288 MCI 289 MCI 290 ---
291 --- 292 ATX 293 PRO 294 --- 295 ---
296 --- 297 ARE 298 --- 299 CYT
321 ATX 322 ATX 323 ATX 324 HNI 325 ATX
326 UTC 327 ATX 328 ATX 329 TET 330 TET
331 ATX 332 ATX 333 MCI 334 ATX 335 SCH
336 ATX 337 FST 338 ATX 339 --- 340 ---
341 ATX 342 ATX 343 ATX 344 ATX 345 ATX
346 ATX 347 UTC 348 ATX 349 DCT 350 CSY
351 ATX 352 ATX 353 --- 354 --- 355 ---
356 ATX 357 --- 358 ATX 359 UTC 360 ---
361 CAN 362 ATX 363 CAN 364 HNI 365 MCI
366 UTC 367 ATX 368 ATX 369 TDD 370 TDD
371 --- 372 ATX 373 TDD 374 --- 375 TNO
376 --- 377 GTS 378 --- 379 --- 380 ---
381 --- 382 ATX 383 TDD 384 FDT 385 CAB
386 TBQ 387 CAN 388 --- 389 --- 390 ---
391 --- 392 ATX 393 EXF 394 --- 395 ---
396 --- 397 TDD 398 --- 399 ARZ
421 ATX 422 ATX 423 ATX 424 ATX 425 TTH
426 ATX 427 --- 428 ATX 429 --- 430 ---
431 ATX 432 ATX 433 ATX 434 AGN 435 ATX
436 IDN 437 ATX 438 ATX 439 --- 440 TXN
441 ATX 442 ATX 443 ATX 444 MCI 445 ATX
446 ATX 447 ATX 448 ATX 449 --- 450 USL
451 ATX 452 ATX 453 ATX 454 ALN 455 ---
456 MCI 457 ATX 458 ATX 459 --- 460 ---
461 CAN 462 ATX 463 CAN 464 --- 465 CAN
466 ALN 467 ICT 468 ATX 469 --- 470 ---
471 ALN 472 ATX 473 --- 474 --- 475 TDD
476 TDD 477 --- 478 AAM 479 --- 480 ---
481 --- 482 ATX 483 --- 484 TDD 485 TDD
486 TDX 487 --- 488 --- 489 TOM 490 ---
491 --- 492 ATX 493 --- 494 --- 495 ---
496 --- 497 --- 498 --- 499 ---
521 ATX 522 ATX 523 ATX 524 ATX 525 ATX
526 ATX 527 ATX 528 ATX 529 MIT 530 ---
531 ATX 532 ATX 533 ATX 534 --- 535 ATX
536 ALN 537 ATX 538 ATX 539 --- 540 ---
541 ATX 542 ATX 543 ATX 544 ATX 545 ATX
546 UTC 547 ATX 548 ATX 549 --- 550 CMA
551 ATX 552 ATX 553 ATX 554 ATX 555 ATX
556 ATX 557 ALN 558 ATX 559 --- 560 ---
561 CAN 562 ATX 563 CAN 564 --- 565 CAN
566 ALN 567 CAN 568 --- 569 --- 570 ---
571 --- 572 ATX 573 --- 574 AMM 575 ---
576 --- 577 GTS 578 --- 579 LNS 580 WES
581 --- 582 ATX 583 TDD 584 TDD 585 ---
586 ATC 587 LTQ 588 ATC 589 LGT 590 ---
591 --- 592 ATX 593 TDD 594 TDD 595 ---
596 --- 597 --- 598 --- 599 ---
621 ATX 622 ATX 623 --- 624 ATX 625 NLD
626 ATX 627 MCI 628 ATX 629 --- 630 ---
631 ATX 632 ATX 633 ATX 634 ATX 635 ATX
636 CQU 637 ATX 638 ATX 639 BUR 640 ---
641 ATX 642 ATX 643 ATX 644 CMA 645 ATX
646 --- 647 ATX 648 ATX 649 --- 650 ---
651 --- 652 ATX 653 --- 654 ATX 655 ---
656 --- 657 TDD 658 TDD 659 --- 660 ---
661 CAN 662 ATX 663 CAN 664 UTC 665 CAN
666 MCI 667 CAN 668 CAN 669 UTC 670 ---
671 --- 672 ATX 673 TDD 674 TDD 675 ---
676 --- 677 --- 678 MCI 679 --- 680 ---
681 --- 682 ATX 683 MTD 684 --- 685 ---
686 LGT 687 NTS 688 --- 689 --- 690 ---
691 --- 692 ATX 693 --- 694 --- 695 ---
696 --- 697 --- 698 NYC 699 PLG
720 TGN
721 --- 722 ATX 723 --- 724 RTC 725 SAN
726 UTC 727 MCI 728 TDD 729 UTC 730 ---
731 --- 732 ATX 733 UTC 734 --- 735 UTC
736 UTC 737 MEC 738 MEC 739 --- 740 ---
741 MIC 742 ATX 743 EDS 744 --- 745 ---
746 --- 747 TDD 748 TDD 749 TDD 750 ---
751 --- 752 ATX 753 --- 754 TSH 755 ---
756 --- 757 TID 758 --- 759 MCI 760 ---
761 --- 762 ATX 763 --- 764 AAM 765 ---
766 --- 767 UTC 768 SNT 769 --- 770 GCN
771 SNT 772 ATX 773 CUX 774 --- 775 ---
776 UTC 777 MCI 778 UTC 779 TDD 780 TDD
781 --- 782 ATX 783 ALN 784 ALG 785 SNH
786 *1 787 --- 788 --- 789 TMU 790 ---
791 --- 792 ATX 793 --- 794 --- 795 ---
796 --- 797 TID 798 TDD 799 --
821 ATX 822 ATX 823 THA 824 ATX 825 MCI
826 ATX 827 UTC 828 ATX 829 UTC 830 ---
831 ATX 832 ATX 833 ATX 834 --- 835 ATX
836 TDD 837 TDD 838 --- 839 VST 840 ---
841 ATX 842 ATX 843 ATX 844 LDD 845 ATX
846 --- 847 ATX 848 ATX 849 --- 850 TKC
851 ATX 852 ATX 853 --- 854 ATX 855 ATX
856 --- 857 TLS 858 ATX 859 --- 860 ---
861 --- 862 ATX 863 ALN 864 TEN 865 ---
866 --- 867 --- 868 SNT 869 UTC 870 ---
871 --- 872 ATX 873 MCI 874 ATX 875 ALN
876 MCI 877 UTC 878 ALN 879 --- 880 NAS
881 NAS 882 ATX 883 --- 884 --- 885 ATX
886 ALN 887 ETS 888 MCI 889 --- 890 ---
891 --- 892 ATX 893 --- 894 --- 895 ---
896 TXN 897 --- 898 CGI 899 TDX
921 --- 922 ATX 923 ALN 924 --- 925 ---
926 --- 927 --- 928 CIS 929 --- 930 ---
931 --- 932 ATX 933 --- 934 --- 935 ---
936 RBW 937 MCI 938 --- 939 --- 940 TSF
941 --- 942 ATX 943 --- 944 --- 945 ---
946 --- 947 --- 948 --- 949 --- 950 MCI
951 BML 952 ATX 953 --- 954 --- 955 MCI
956 --- 957 --- 958 *2 959 *2 960 CNO
961 --- 962 ATX 963 SOC 964 --- 965 ---
966 TDX 967 --- 968 TED 969 TDX 970 ---
971 --- 972 ATX 973 --- 974 --- 975 ---
976 --- 977 --- 978 --- 979 --- 980 ---
981 --- 982 ATX 983 WUT 984 --- 985 ---
986 WUT 987 --- 988 WUT 989 TDX 990 ---
991 --- 992 ATX 993 --- 994 --- 995 ---
996 VOA 997 --- 998 --- 999 MCI
NOTES:
- 1 -- RELEASED FOR FUTURE ASSIGNMENT
- 2 -- These NXX codes are generally reserved for test applications; They
may be reserved for Acess Tandem testing from an End Office.
Note also: The following NXX are dedicated for RCCP (Radio Common Carrier
Paging) under the discretion of the local exchange carrier:
202, 212, 302, 312, 402, 412, 502, 512, 602, 612, 702, 712, 802, 812, 902,
and 912.
===================================================
900 Series Prefix to OCN translation table
Please note that this differs from the 800 table, because much
fewer of the 900 NXXs are assigned.
NXX OCN NXX OCN NXX OCN NXX OCN NXX OCN
200 ATX 202 Ameritech 210 ATX 220 ATX 221 TDX
222 ONC 223 TDX 225 Pac. Bell 226 MCI 233 TDX
234 TEN 240 U.S. West 248 Ameritech 250 ATX 258 TEN
254 TTU 255 SNT 260 ATX 264 ADG 266 CSY
272 Bell Atl. 273 CAN 275 ITT 280 Ameritech 282 LGT
283 Pac. Bell 288 GTE N.west 297 CAN 300 ATX 301 Ameritech
302 Ameritech 303 Pac. Bell 321 TEN 322 TDX 327 ETS
328 ATX 331 TET 332 PLG 333 U.S. West 335 Bell Atl.
342 ATX 344 ATX 345 ALN 346 United Tel. 350 ATX
364 GTE N.west 366 ONC 369 TEN 370 ATX 377 GTS
386 United Tel. 388 SNT 399 ARZ 400 ATX 407 ATX
410 ATX 420 ATX 422 ALN 426 PLG 428 Ameritech
430 U.S. West 444 ONC 445 PHE 446 MCI 450 Ameritech
451 CAN 456 TEN 463 United Tel. 478 AAM 479 ARZ
480 ATX 483 GTE Midwest 488 ONC 490 U.S. West 500 ATX
505 Pac. Bell 520 ATX 529 MIT 536 BUR 540 ALN
543 ALN 545 GTE Calif. 550 ALN 555 ATX 567 ALN
580 U.S. West 590 ATX 595 CAN 600 ATX 620 Ameritech
624 Pac. Bell 626 CSY 628 Ameritech 630 CAN 633 MIT
639 PLG 643 CAN 645 CAN 650 ATX 654 TEN
656 SNT 660 ATX 661 United Tel. 663 MDE 665 ALN
666 ONC 670 CAN 677 CAN 678 MCI 680 ATX
686 LTG 690 CAN 698 NY Tel. 699 PLG 701 Bell Atl.
710 TGN 720 ATX 722 Pac. Bell 724 RTC 725 SNT
727 GTE Calif. 730 ATX 739 CSY 740 ATX 741 TEN
746 ITT 750 CAN 753 ALN 765 ALN 773 ATX
777 Pac. Bell 778 Ameritech 780 Ameritech 786 ATX 790 CAN
792 CAN 801 Bell Atl. 820 ATX 830 CAN 843 Pac. Bell
844 Pac. Bell 847 United Tel. 850 ATX 860 ATX 866 AAM
870 CAN 872 TEN 887 ETS 888 CIS 900 TDX
901 Bell Atl. 903 ATX 909 ATX 924 Ameritech 932 ATX
948 ARZ 949 MIC 963 TEN 970 MIC 971 MIC
972 MIC 973 MIC 974 ALN 975 ALN 976 ATX
988 MCI 990 MCI 991 ALG 993 SNT 999 TEN
OCN Reference List:
ADG - Advantage Network, Inc. AGN - AMRIGON
ALG - Allnet Communication Services AMM - Access Long Distance
AAM - ALASCOM ARE - American Express TRS
ARZ - AmeriCall Corporation (Calif.) ATC - Action Telecom Co.
ATX - AT&T BML - Phone America
BUR - Burlington Tel. CAB - Hedges Communications
CAN - Telcom Canada CNO - COMTEL of New Orleans
CQU - ConQuest Comm. Corp CSY - COM Systems
CUX - Compu-Tel Inc. CYT - ClayDesta Communications
DCT - Direct Communications, Inc. DLT - Delta Communications, Inc.
EDS - Electronic Data Systems Corp. ETS - Eastern Telephone Systems, Inc.
EXF - Execulines of Florida, Inc. FDG - First Digital Network
FDN - Florida Digital Network FDT - Friend Technologies
FST - First Data Resources GCN - General Communications, Inc.
GTS - Telenet Comm. Corp. HNI - Houston Network, Inc.
ITT - United States Transmission System LDD - LDDS-II, Inc.
LDL - Long Distance for Less LGT - LITEL
LNS - Lintel Systems LSI - Long Distance Savers
LTQ - Long Distance for Less MAL - MIDAMERICAN
MCI - MCI Telecommunications Corp. MDE - Meade Associates
MEC - Mercury, Inc. MIC - Microtel, Inc.
MIT - Midco Communications MTD - Metromedia Long Distance
NLD - National Data Corp. NTK - Network Telemanagement Svcs.
NTS - NTS Communications ONC - OMNICALL, Inc.
ONE - One Call Communications, Inc. PHE - Phone Mail, Inc.
PLG - Pilgrim Telephone Co. PRO - PROTO-COL
RBW - R-Comm RTC - RCI Corporation
SAN - Satelco SCH - Schneider Communications
SDY - TELVUE Corp. SIR - Southern Interexchange Services
SLS - Southland Systems, Inc. SNH - Sunshine Telephone Co.
SNT - SouthernNet, Inc. SOC - State of California
TBQ - Telecable Corp. TDD - Teleconnect
TDX - Cable & Wireless Comm. TED - TeleDial America
TEM - Telesystems, Inc. TEN - Telesphere Network, Inc.
TET - Teltec Savings Communications Co. TGN - Telemanagement Consult't Corp.
THA - Touch America TID - TMC South Central Indiana
TKC - TK Communications, Inc. TLS - TELE-SAV
TMU - Tel-America, Inc. TNO - ATC Cignal Communications
TOM - TMC of Montgomery TOR - TMC of Orlando
TSF - SOUTH-TEL TSH - Tel-Share
TTH - Tele Tech, Inc. TTU - Total-Tel USA
TXN - Tex-Net USL - U.S. Link Long Distance
UTC - U.S. Telcom, Inc. (U.S. Sprint) VOA - Valu-Line
VST - STAR-LINE WES - Westel
WUT - Western Union Telegraph Co.
NOTE: Where local telcos, such as Illinois Bell offer 800 service, they
purchase blocks of numbers from AT&T on prefixes assigned to AT&T. They
are free to purhcase blocks of numbers from any carrier of their choice
however.
============================================================================
Date: Tue, 3 Jan 89 01:57:48 EST
From: scotts@bu-it.BU.EDU
To: telecom@bu-cs.bu.edu
Subject: Another lesson on 700/800/900 service
I have compiled some more information about the SACs for your
edification.
These include 700, 800, and 900.
Most telephone users from the United States are quite familiar with
800 service. A number that they dial and incur NO charge (not even
message units in most [all?] areas).
Then there is 900 service, which is most people perceive as 'value
added', i.e. you pay more for the information than for the transport
of the call. These vary typically from 35 cents to a few dollars for
either a timed service, or a 'as long as you like' duration-sensitive
service. There are two sub-species of 900 service, AT&T and
"everybody else".
Finally there is 700 service, which many people remember as Alliance
Teleconferencing. This is the third "canonical" SAC. With few
limitations, this SAC is given over to the IEC entirely.
Let's look at these in more detail:
800 service is offered by various IECs. Each NXX in the 800 SAC is
assigned to a given carrier, who is responsible for assigning numbers
from that block to customers, and providing 10 digit translation.
When you as Joe Customer dial 1-800-222-1234 (made up number, please
don't bother them) it will initiate the following sequence:
1. If you are in an Electronic Office (DMS-100, DMS-200, 1A ESS, #5
ESS) the 800-222 will be translated to "AT&T" and search for an
opening in a trunk group marked for 800 origination. Should none be
found, bump to step 3
2. If you are in a non-electronic office (SXS, XB, and some flavors
of ESS), it will go to the access tandem that you're office 'homes'
on, where 800-222 will be translated to "AT&T"
[note that if at this point, the number doesn't have a translation,
you will get a "lose" recording from the CO]
3. Find a trunk in a trunk group marked for 800 origination. Should
none be found, give the customer a recording "Due to network
congestion, your 800 call could not be completed" or die, or whatever.
(Depends on phase of moon, etc.)
4. The end office will the send the following pulse-strea (in MF):
KP + II + 3/10D + ST + KP + 800 222 1234 + ST
(note that this is a simplification, there are some fine points of
ANI spills that are beyond the scope of this article)
II = 2 information digits ... typical values are:
00 normal ANI .. 10 digits follow
01 ONI line ... NPA follows
02 ANI failure ... NPA follows
3/10D = 3 or 10 digits. Either the NPA, or the entire 10
digit number.
KP and ST are control tones
5. The carrier receives all of this (and probably throws the ANI into
the bit bucket) and translates the 800 number to what's called a PTN,
or Plant Test Number. For Example, 617-555-9111. Then, the call is
routed AS IF the customer had dialed that 10 digit number. Of course,
the billing data is marked as an 800 call, so the subscriber receiving
th call pays the appropriate amount.
900 Service. As I mentioned earlier there are two flavors of 900
service, AT&T, and "Everybody Else". Everybody else is handled
exactly as 800 service above, except the IEC will probably use the ANI
information to send you a bill. (Either directly, or through your
BOC, each situation governed by applicable tarrifs and contractual
arrangements between the IEC and the BOC)
AT&T 900 is a curious monster indeed. It was designed as a "mass
termination" service. When you dial a 900 # by AT&T (such as the
"hear space shuttle mission audio" number) you get routed to one of
twelve "nodes" strewn throughout the country. These nodes are each
capable of terminating 9,000 calls >PER SECOND<. There are several
options available, where the customer and/or the IP pay for all/part
of the call. The big difference between 800 and AT&T 900 is >NOT<
"who pays for the call" (there are free 900 numbers) but "how many
people can it handle at once". The IP is responsible for providing
program audio. AT&T is prohibited from providing audio-program
services (i.e. tape recorded messages) [As with any rule, there are
exceptions to these as well]
The last SAC we'll deal with is 700. I've seen ads on late-nite
television for Group Access Bridging service (GAB) under 700 numbers,
with a elephantine dialing sequence. The one that comes to mind is
10041-1-700-777-7777. [I make no guarantee about the quality or
availability of this service. I don't even know if it still exists.]
If you were to dial 1-700-555-4141 you will hear a recording
announcing your Equal-Access carrier. (Some carriers ignore the last
four digits, and any 700-555 number will give the announcement).
This is signalled the same as 800 service, and may or may not be
billed ENTIRELY at the discretion of the IEC. In New York, under PSC
tarrif you can order 900 and/or 700 blocking as well as 976, 970, 550,
and 540 blocking in various (but not entirely orthoganal)
combinations.
What in ONE carrier might be a customer service hotline (Dial 1-700-I
AM LOST) might for another be a revenue product. There is LITTLE
standardization of 700 usage from IEC to IEC.
The one last dialing pattern that is worth mentioning is what's
called, "cut through dialing". Try dialing 10220#. If Western Union
comes to your town, you'll get a FG-A style dial tone. Presumably if
you had a Western Union "Calling Card" [I don't know their term for
it] you could dial a call. (If someone DOES have WU service, could
they please check this out for me?)
Glossary:
ANI - Automatic Number Identification. An MF sequence that identifies
your line for toll billing information. Often confused with ANAC
(Automatic Number Announcemnt Circuit) which reads your number back in
a synthesised voice.
BOC - Bell Operating Company. A often misused term (even in this very
article :-) that in general usage means, "Your local exchange
carrier." Since most of the telephones in the country are served by
what used to be the Bell system, we tend to use the term. The proper
term in this case, however IS "Exchange Carrier [EC]" They provide
service within your LATA.
FG-A - Feature Group A. Line Side termination for Long Distance
carriers. The old 555-1234 for Widget Telephone Company then dial an
access code and the number style dialing is called FG-A.
FG-B - Feature Group B. Trunk Side termination for Long Distance
carriers. (aka ENFIA B). 950 service. This is LATA wide service,
and doesn't cost the customer message units. ANI is only provided
when the trunks terinate in the End Office (as opposed to an access
tandem).
FG-D - Feature Group D. Trunk Side termination. Provides 10xxx
dialing, 1+ pre-subscription dialing, and Equal Access 800/900
service. Only available in electronic offices and some 5XB offices
(through a beastie called an Adjunct Frame.)
GAB - Group Audio Bridging. Where several people call the same
number, to talk to other people calling the same number. "Party" or
"Chat" lines.
IEC - Inter-Exchange Carrier. Someone who actually carries calls from
place to place. AT&T, Sprint, MCI are all IECs.
IP - Information Provider. Someone who sells a value-added service
over the telephone. Where you pay for the INFORMATION you're
receiving, as well as the cost of TRANSPORT of the call.
NXX - Notation convention for what used to be called a "prefix". N
represents the digits 2 through 9, and X represents the digits 0
through 9. There are 800 valid NXX combinations, but some are
reserved for local use. (411 for Directory, 611 for Repair Bureau,
911 for emergency, etc.)
ONI - Operator Number Identification. In areas with some styles of
party-line service, the CO cannot tell who you are, and the operator
will come on and say, "What number are you calling from?". You can
lie, they have to trust you. They MAY know which PREFIX you're coming
from, though.
PTN - Plant Test Number. A regular 10 digit number assigned with your
inward WATS line. This may NOT be a 'dialable' number from the local
CO. (A friend has a WATS line in Amherst, MA [413-549, #5 ESS] and
you cannot dial the PTN locally, but you can if you come in on a toll
trunk.)
SAC - Special Area Code. Bellcore speak for area codes that aren't
really places, but classes of service.
============================================================================
Closing note: The information in this [Guide to North American Area Codes]
first appeared in various parts in TELECOM Digest Volume 9, issues 2 and 15;
January 3 and January 15, 1989.
TELECOM Digest is published several times weekly; is distributed to a list
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via the comp.dcom.telecom news.group.
Patrick Townson
Telecom Digest Moderator
telecom@bu-cs.bu.edu