Phone Numbers

[1995hoo]

One of the issues is that wireless carriers assign phone numbers for every device including tablets. That is a lot of wasted numbers.

Essentially, any device that accesses the cellular network gets a number (including mobile hotspots or cellular watches). My old iPad had a phone number. My newer one is WiFi-only and doesn't have one. I don't know whether there's a solution other than assigning a phone number.

My laptop (which doesn't use cellular data) uses the same phone number as my phone. Doing so with iPads would reduce the number of phone numbers in use.

Right, but some iPads do use cellular data. That means you can take the iPad with you and connect it to the cellular network even if you don't have your phone with you or you're allowed to have an iPad but not a phone. I assume that's why they assign phone numbers to them. If you have a wifi-only iPad, like my newer one, a call placed to your iPhone will ring on your iPad if the two devices are close enough to each other (I never tried this with my old cellular-capable iPad to see what would happen if the devices were some distance apart), and it sounds like your laptop can do the same thing. The laptop and the iPad, in that scenario, are not themselves connecting to the cellular network. They're piggybacking off your phone's connection (conceptually similar to hotspotting the phone, I suppose). My point was about devices that directly connect to the cellular network themselves without the need for an intermediary device like a phone or a Jetpack.

[kalvado]

One of the issues is that wireless carriers assign phone numbers for every device including tablets. That is a lot of wasted numbers.

Essentially, any device that accesses the cellular network gets a number (including mobile hotspots or cellular watches). My old iPad had a phone number. My newer one is WiFi-only and doesn't have one. I don't know whether there's a solution other than assigning a phone number.

My laptop (which doesn't use cellular data) uses the same phone number as my phone. Doing so with iPads would reduce the number of phone numbers in use.

Right, but some iPads do use cellular data. That means you can take the iPad with you and connect it to the cellular network even if you don't have your phone with you or you're allowed to have an iPad but not a phone. I assume that's why they assign phone numbers to them. If you have a wifi-only iPad, like my newer one, a call placed to your iPhone will ring on your iPad if the two devices are close enough to each other (I never tried this with my old cellular-capable iPad to see what would happen if the devices were some distance apart), and it sounds like your laptop can do the same thing. The laptop and the iPad, in that scenario, are not themselves connecting to the cellular network. They're piggybacking off your phone's connection (conceptually similar to hotspotting the phone, I suppose). My point was about devices that directly connect to the cellular network themselves without the need for an intermediary device like a phone or a Jetpack.

One may envision the introduction of callable and non-callable data-only numbers, for example. Dedicate one "area code" to 12-digit non-callable IDs to be used for billing and routing, and forget about it. 

[1995hoo]

One of the issues is that wireless carriers assign phone numbers for every device including tablets. That is a lot of wasted numbers.

Essentially, any device that accesses the cellular network gets a number (including mobile hotspots or cellular watches). My old iPad had a phone number. My newer one is WiFi-only and doesn't have one. I don't know whether there's a solution other than assigning a phone number.

My laptop (which doesn't use cellular data) uses the same phone number as my phone. Doing so with iPads would reduce the number of phone numbers in use.

Right, but some iPads do use cellular data. That means you can take the iPad with you and connect it to the cellular network even if you don't have your phone with you or you're allowed to have an iPad but not a phone. I assume that's why they assign phone numbers to them. If you have a wifi-only iPad, like my newer one, a call placed to your iPhone will ring on your iPad if the two devices are close enough to each other (I never tried this with my old cellular-capable iPad to see what would happen if the devices were some distance apart), and it sounds like your laptop can do the same thing. The laptop and the iPad, in that scenario, are not themselves connecting to the cellular network. They're piggybacking off your phone's connection (conceptually similar to hotspotting the phone, I suppose). My point was about devices that directly connect to the cellular network themselves without the need for an intermediary device like a phone or a Jetpack.

One may envision the introduction of callable and non-callable data-only numbers, for example. Dedicate one "area code" to 12-digit non-callable IDs to be used for billing and routing, and forget about it. 

That would be a very sensible idea.

Or, as a former colleague of mine would have said, "That sounds too much like right."

[ZLoth]

One thing to note is that area codes do NOT have three consecutive identical numbers. When it was proposed to split Las Vegas from the rest of the state of Nevada (775), one of the proposals that was shot down in April, 1997 was to make Las Vegas the 777 area code. Instead, it was made area code 702 and then overlaid with area code 725.

In New York City, one of the highly sought area codes is 212 as it was one of the original 86 area codes, indicating longevity, and even now, it is overlaid as 212/332/646.

Sacramento is where I lived most of my life, and until November, 1997, it covered most of northeastern California. At that point, 916 was the Sacramento area, and 530 was northeastern California. In March, 2018, area code 479 was overlaid over 916.

Currently, I live in the DFW area. There is the Dallas area codes which consist of 214 (original), 972 (1990), 469 (1999), and 945 (2021), then there is the Fort Worth area codes of 817 (flash cut from 915 in 1953), then in 1997, reduced in size with the split off of 940 and 254, before an overlay was put in place in 2000 with the area code 682.

Personally, I got rid of my landline number in the early 2000s and went mobile only. When I moved to DFW, I set up a 469- number as a Google Voice number so that I appear "local" while keeping my 916 number. Last summer, I got rid of my 916 number and ported my Google Voice number to my mobile phone.

[CtrlAltDel]

One thing to note is that area codes do NOT have three consecutive numbers. When it was proposed to split Las Vegas from the rest of the state of Nevada (775), one of the proposals that was shot down in April, 1997 was to make Las Vegas the 777 area code. Instead, it was made area code 702 and then overlaid with area code 725.

Did you perchance mean three identical numbers? There are a number of area codes with three consecutive numbers: 234, 567, 678, 765, and 432, in addition to 321 in the Cape Canaveral region.

[Big John]

^^The last 2 digits in an area code can't be identical with the exception of toll-free numbers or other "x00" numbers.

[ZLoth]

One thing to note is that area codes do NOT have three consecutive numbers. When it was proposed to split Las Vegas from the rest of the state of Nevada (775), one of the proposals that was shot down in April, 1997 was to make Las Vegas the 777 area code. Instead, it was made area code 702 and then overlaid with area code 725.

Did you perchance mean three identical numbers? There are a number of area codes with three consecutive numbers: 234, 567, 678, 765, and 432, in addition to 321 in the Cape Canaveral region.

Corrected.

[ZLoth]

One may envision the introduction of callable and non-callable data-only numbers, for example. Dedicate one "area code" to 12-digit non-callable IDs to be used for billing and routing, and forget about it.

One of the challenges is the migration of phone switching and PBX equipment. One example occurred many years ago when they allowed the middle digit of an area code to be other than a 0 or a 1, only for the legacy equipment to have the 0/1 as a hard-coded value. You are not only talking about equipment at the metropolitan level, but at the small-town mom-and-pop level. And, at that point, might as well get rid of the legacy twisted-pair copper wire and going completely fiber and VoIP. Now, where are the components going to come from under the current silicon shortage?

Another thing facing exhaustion is the IPv4 addresses. They have been talking about IPv6 migration for over twenty years already, but beyond a few isolated instances, it has been mostly "talk" in my opinion even though we are approaching IPv4 exhaustion.

Either migration will be more painful than the analog to digital television migration that took place in June, 2009 in the United States. At least the migration and deactivation of 3G cellular network is more organized, as the mobile providers already stopped selling 3G phones a few years ago, and then activation of 3G devices after that. Having said that, my car's OnStar system is 3G-based, so I have to look forward to a dongle and even then, some loss of functionality.

[kalvado]

One may envision the introduction of callable and non-callable data-only numbers, for example. Dedicate one "area code" to 12-digit non-callable IDs to be used for billing and routing, and forget about it.

One of the challenges is the migration of phone switching and PBX equipment. One example occurred many years ago when they allowed the middle digit of an area code to be other than a 0 or a 1, only for the legacy equipment to have the 0/1 as a hard-coded value. You are not only talking about equipment at the metropolitan level, but at the small-town mom-and-pop level. And, at that point, might as well get rid of the legacy twisted-pair copper wire and going completely fiber and VoIP. Now, where are the components going to come from under the current silicon shortage?

Another thing facing exhaustion is the IPv4 addresses. They have been talking about IPv6 migration for over twenty years already, but beyond a few isolated instances, it has been mostly "talk" in my opinion even though we are approaching IPv4 exhaustion.

Either migration will be more painful than the analog to digital television migration that took place in June, 2009 in the United States. At least the migration and deactivation of 3G cellular network is more organized, as the mobile providers already stopped selling 3G phones a few years ago, and then activation of 3G devices after that. Having said that, my car's OnStar system is 3G-based, so I have to look forward to a dongle and even then, some loss of functionality.

Datalink over the phone lines is a cell-only feature, so this is about newer equipment. Old wired stuff is not affected as calls will not be going to those  "new" numbers. For mom-and-pop switches that can be just an inaccessible area code.  Most of cell equipment - where that would matter - is significantly new.

And IPv6 is actually doing great. US is 40 to 50% into IPv6 by now according to different sources. Google reports worldwide 35% of ipv6 traffic to their servers.  If we're talking about phone network, both ATT and T-Mobile are using v6, and using it by default even with my older phone. My home cable required some tweaks in router setup, but now I am fully into v6 at home as well. (I don't know why I bothered to setup that). We didn't have v6 at work last time I checked, though.
I didn't find out about cell v6 operation until I bothered checking; I assume newer routers would have v6 enabled by default. Tells you it is done right if mid-advanced user didn't notice it!

[Dirt Roads]

One thing to note is that area codes do NOT have three consecutive identical numbers. When it was proposed to split Las Vegas from the rest of the state of Nevada (775), one of the proposals that was shot down in April, 1997 was to make Las Vegas the 777 area code. Instead, it was made area code 702 and then overlaid with area code 725.

Yes, this prohibition is due to a common technical issue whereby the pushbuttons can get stuck and repeat the same digit.  Makes me wonder if the design of the original North American Numbering Plan had already envisioned a decimal non-rotary, non-binary technology for transmitting the numeric codes. 

[mrsman]

One of the issues is that wireless carriers assign phone numbers for every device including tablets. That is a lot of wasted numbers.

Essentially, any device that accesses the cellular network gets a number (including mobile hotspots or cellular watches). My old iPad had a phone number. My newer one is WiFi-only and doesn’t have one. I don’t know whether there’s a solution other than assigning a phone number.

My laptop (which doesn't use cellular data) uses the same phone number as my phone. Doing so with iPads would reduce the number of phone numbers in use.

Right, but some iPads do use cellular data. That means you can take the iPad with you and connect it to the cellular network even if you don't have your phone with you or you're allowed to have an iPad but not a phone. I assume that's why they assign phone numbers to them. If you have a wifi-only iPad, like my newer one, a call placed to your iPhone will ring on your iPad if the two devices are close enough to each other (I never tried this with my old cellular-capable iPad to see what would happen if the devices were some distance apart), and it sounds like your laptop can do the same thing. The laptop and the iPad, in that scenario, are not themselves connecting to the cellular network. They're piggybacking off your phone's connection (conceptually similar to hotspotting the phone, I suppose). My point was about devices that directly connect to the cellular network themselves without the need for an intermediary device like a phone or a Jetpack.

One may envision the introduction of callable and non-callable data-only numbers, for example. Dedicate one "area code" to 12-digit non-callable IDs to be used for billing and routing, and forget about it. 

That would be a very sensible idea.

Or, as a former colleague of mine would have said, "That sounds too much like right."

Agreed.  On a national scale, urban areas are running out of numbers whereas rural areas have plenty of numbers to spare.  As a whole, there are plenty of numbers available, just in the wrong places.  These data-only numbers do not need to be associated with their city, so if a dedicated area code can be assigned for those, that would slow down the exhuation for the busy area codes.  Heck, re-merging area codes [like the plan for Phoenix and the 213+323 merger in L.A.] is also a great way of at least attempting to conserve the resource of phone numbers.

I think adding a digit to existing area codes would be entirely disruptive to business needs and the phone system in general.  If existing phone numbers were handled in a more efficient way, we would not be facing the prospect of area code exhaustion for many decades.

Incidentally, the Southern California region (and especially Metro-L.A.) has so many area codes, that they are often* used as monikers for their respective regions.  So "I'm going to the 949" refers to southern Orange County.  "He lives in the 626," referring to the San Gabriel Valley.  Such language usage probaly irks those who hate similar usage when referring to the freeways.  The following sentence would be perfectly acceptable in SoCal (and is in fact a true statement): "He drove from the 626 to the 949 by taking the 605 to the 405."  I don't think this would work in any other part of the country.

* Almost always referring to the main (first) area code for the region, not the overlay, if one exists.  So "the 818" can refer to the San Fernando Valley, but not "the 747."

[frankenroad]

One thing to note is that area codes do NOT have three consecutive identical numbers. When it was proposed to split Las Vegas from the rest of the state of Nevada (775), one of the proposals that was shot down in April, 1997 was to make Las Vegas the 777 area code. Instead, it was made area code 702 and then overlaid with area code 725.

Yes, this prohibition is due to a common technical issue whereby the pushbuttons can get stuck and repeat the same digit.  Makes me wonder if the design of the original North American Numbering Plan had already envisioned a decimal non-rotary, non-binary technology for transmitting the numeric codes.

The primary reason is that area codes ending in 2 repeating digits (e.g., 800, 844) are reserved for non-geographic special purposes.  Area code 888 has been in use for many years.

[Scott5114]

With so many phone numbers belonging to mobile devices, why don't we just get rid of area codes altogether? (Or rather, make the first 3 digits of the phone number just as randomly-assigned as the last 7?)

[NWI_Irish96]

With so many phone numbers belonging to mobile devices, why don't we just get rid of area codes altogether? (Or rather, make the first 3 digits of the phone number just as randomly-assigned as the last 7?)

Area codes are still helpful for business phone numbers, especially in an urban area. If I see a 219 or 708 area code I know the business might be nearby. If I see a 312 or 630 I know it's too far to bother with.

[1995hoo]

....

Incidentally, the Southern California region (and especially Metro-L.A.) has so many area codes, that they are often* used as monikers for their respective regions.  So "I'm going to the 949" refers to southern Orange County.  "He lives in the 626," referring to the San Gabriel Valley.  Such language usage probaly irks those who hate similar usage when referring to the freeways.  The following sentence would be perfectly acceptable in SoCal (and is in fact a true statement): "He drove from the 626 to the 949 by taking the 605 to the 405."  I don't think this would work in any other part of the country.

* Almost always referring to the main (first) area code for the region, not the overlay, if one exists.  So "the 818" can refer to the San Fernando Valley, but not "the 747."

You sometimes hear this sort of thing around here. Some people refer to southeastern Virginia as "the 757." I usually hear that usage in connection with college sports recruiting. The DC Lottery has an ad campaign right now referring to "the 202" (DC's longtime area code that was just overlaid with 771 this past fall). I find both such usages tacky and silly, much as I think the current little fad of calling the DC area "the DMV" is stupid.

[JayhawkCO]

[Scott5114]

With so many phone numbers belonging to mobile devices, why don't we just get rid of area codes altogether? (Or rather, make the first 3 digits of the phone number just as randomly-assigned as the last 7?)

Area codes are still helpful for business phone numbers, especially in an urban area. If I see a 219 or 708 area code I know the business might be nearby. If I see a 312 or 630 I know it's too far to bother with.

Wouldn't addresses do a much better job of communicating that information? Especially since if distance to the business is a consideration, it means you're planning to go there, so you're going to have to have their address anyway...

[ozarkman417]

On my landline, an area code helps me determine which calls may are worth answering. For instance, I typically pick up if the area code is 417 or 386, while I often get unwanted calls from area codes 314 and 202, and instantly decline them as a result. While Caller ID helps with that, many calls that come my way are displayed as "Wireless Caller" or similar.

[kalvado]

With so many phone numbers belonging to mobile devices, why don't we just get rid of area codes altogether? (Or rather, make the first 3 digits of the phone number just as randomly-assigned as the last 7?)

Area codes are still helpful for business phone numbers, especially in an urban area. If I see a 219 or 708 area code I know the business might be nearby. If I see a 312 or 630 I know it's too far to bother with.

Wouldn't addresses do a much better job of communicating that information? Especially since if distance to the business is a consideration, it means you're planning to go there, so you're going to have to have their address anyway...

It would, but there are more than a few situations where city doesn't ring the bell. Zip is a touch better, but  not much. Area codes do help - although people got assigned out of state numbers for mobile, and it is possible those would be primary phones for mom-and-pop businesses

[mrsman]

With so many phone numbers belonging to mobile devices, why don't we just get rid of area codes altogether? (Or rather, make the first 3 digits of the phone number just as randomly-assigned as the last 7?)

Area codes are still helpful for business phone numbers, especially in an urban area. If I see a 219 or 708 area code I know the business might be nearby. If I see a 312 or 630 I know it's too far to bother with.

Wouldn't addresses do a much better job of communicating that information? Especially since if distance to the business is a consideration, it means you're planning to go there, so you're going to have to have their address anyway...

It would, but there are more than a few situations where city doesn't ring the bell. Zip is a touch better, but  not much. Area codes do help - although people got assigned out of state numbers for mobile, and it is possible those would be primary phones for mom-and-pop businesses

In much of the areas near our largest cities, those cities are surrounded by so many area codes and the area codes are often relatively small in area that they basically define your local "side of town."   This is absolutely true in the Greater L.A. area and probably other large cities as well.  In rural parts, you are correct that the area code would not be helpful if the code basically descries half the state.

[Scott5114]

In Oklahoma, the area codes basically only define "OKC and friends" (405 and its overlay 572) "Tulsa and friends" (918 and its overlay 539) and "the middle of nowhere" (580). Because of overlays, you can't really determine where in a particular urban area any given number hails from.

[Bruce]

It's too bad area code 747 was assigned to part of LA instead of its rightful place as a Seattle overlay.

[Molandfreak]

Are there any places where a 3-digit interstate or US highway enters the same area code zone? US 218 would have entered the modern 218 area code zone if it were extended in 1934 instead of US 52.

[NWI_Irish96]

Are there any places where a 3-digit interstate or US highway enters the same area code zone? US 218 would have entered the modern 218 area code zone if it were extended in 1934 instead of US 52.

None I know of right now but maybe someday down the road, Lafayette will grow enough to warrant an I-765

[kkt]

It's too bad area code 747 was assigned to part of LA instead of its rightful place as a Seattle overlay.

Well, or an Everett-north suburbs area. But yes