Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!husc6!cs.utexas.edu!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!netsys!vector!telecom-gateway From: msb@sq.sq.com (Mark Brader) Newsgroups: comp.dcom.telecom Subject: National Views of Access Codes Message-ID: Date: 25 Jul 89 23:57:06 GMT Sender: news@vector.Dallas.TX.US Lines: 77 Approved: telecom-request@vector.dallas.tx.us X-Submissions-To: telecom@eecs.nwu.edu X-Administrivia-To: telecom-request@vector.dallas.tx.us X-TELECOM-Digest: volume 9, issue 261, message 1 of 6 Several people have mentioned points related to this lately, but I'm going to begin by restating for overseas readers some things that are well known to most people reading this. In most of North America, to make a basic long distance call, one dials a digit-sequence formed by concatenating (a) an access code, (b) an area code [usually], and (c) the number called. The access code is 1 in most places but there have been, and may still be, some places where it is 112 and some places where no access code is needed. Because of this, and now because of the appearance of 0 as a second access code denoting customer-dialed, operator-assisted calls, it is clear that North Americans do not consider the access code as part of the number. (At least, those who are careful about such things don't. Advertisements usually say things like "dial 1-416-393-4636", so the general public may have other ideas. But tables of phone numbers, as in hotel directories, are normally written without the access code.) People dialing to North America from elsewhere, on the other hand, dial a number consisting of some prefix dependent on their own phone system but usually ending in the North American "country code" of 1, followed directly by parts (b) and (c) of what we dial. From England, for instance, the above number would be dialed as 010-1-416-393-4636. Here the -1- is the country code for North America and it is only a coincidence that it is the same as the access code most commonly used from here. On the other hand, in many other countries, the digit-sequence that one dials to make a basic long-distance call is formed by concatenating (a) a city or area code, and (b) a number. But the city or area codes always begin with the same digit, most often 0, and this digit is *omitted* when dialing into the country from elsewhere. For instance, the number dialed in England as 01-222-1234 would be dialed from here as 011-44-1-222-1234. Here the 011- is an access code for calls outside North America, -44- is the country code, and -1- is the city code which corresponds to the 01- in the British number. From a Briton's point of view, what we dial is 011-44- followed by all but the first digit of their area code and phone number. From a North American's point of view, what they call the first digit of their area code isn't really part of it at all but is an access code. Personally I think the North American view is superior, but it's not an important point except if it causes misunderstandings. And now finally to my questions. 1. Are there any other countries that take what I have called the "North American" point of view above? *All* the countries that I've been to outside North America use the other system. 2. Are there any other countries that allow customer-dialed, operator- assisted calls? If so, how are they dialed? 3. Are there any countries outside North America that use 1 as an access code (interpreting the numbers in North American style)? So far all the ones we've heard about use 0, except for Finland which uses 9. 4. Is there any correlation between unusual access codes and unusual dials? I remember that where the standard dial has 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-0, there are two nonstandard dials that have 0-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 and 9-8-7-6-5- 4-3-2-1-0, but I don't remember which are the few countries that use them, except for New Zealand which uses the latter one. Could Finland be one of these? -- I know that New Zealand uses an access code of 0. On the other hand, their emergency number is 111, which is dialed the same as the British 999! -- Mark Brader "'A matter of opinion'[?] I have to say you are SoftQuad Inc., Toronto right. There['s] your opinion, which is wrong, utzoo!sq!msb, msb@sq.com and mine, which is right." -- Gene Ward Smith