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::: From the Archives of: Brian Oblivion ::: 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. ============================================================================ 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 -- 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 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? You cannot dial into those numbers. The WUTCO codes more or less match certain areas of the country, but in recent years they have been more randomly assigned. If you see a number which looks like a phone number, but has one of those leading codes, it is actually a TWX machine. 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. ========================================================================== 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. ============================================================================ 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. ============================================================================