Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!wuarchive!texbell!vector!telecom-gateway From: nvuxr!deej@bellcore.bellcore.com (David Lewis) Newsgroups: comp.dcom.telecom Subject: Re: 8-Digit Phone Numbers vs. More Area Codes Message-ID: Date: 13 Nov 89 18:04:40 GMT Sender: news@vector.Dallas.TX.US Organization: Bellcore, Livingston, NJ Lines: 41 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 508, message 4 of 7 In article , smk@attunix.att.com (S M Krieger) writes: > I am looking at my home state of NJ: a second > area code was created for NJ in 1958 (the 201/609 split), and now a > third area code (the 201/908 split) is being created. Since it > probably won't be 30 years until the next split, and 30 years after > that until the fourth split, there has to be a better way to > "stabilize" our phone numbers. I don't know; 30 years between changes sounds pretty "stable" to me... Seriously: Even without addressing implementation issues (i.e., how you make it work), there are questions surrounding an eight-digit "phone number". Like, where do you put the eighth number? Is it part of the CO code (NXX) or part of the station code (XXXX)? The former multiplies by ten the number of CO codes available in each LATA -- including LATAs in places like Montana where you may not need more CO codes for 20 years. The latter multiplies by ten the number of stations available in each CO code -- again, including places where more station codes may not be needed for twenty years. In addition, a change to eight digit numbers is actually a change to 11 digit numbers, since no phone in North America is uniquely identified by a seven digit number today, but instead by a ten digit number. NPA splits allow the increase of available numbers where needed, and leave the rest of the numbering plan alone. Which seems to me to be a rather cost-effective way of going about it. Disclaimer: Just because I work for Bellcore, which administrates the North American Numbering Plan, doesn't mean I know the labrynthine workings of the Numbering Plan Administration organization... David G Lewis ...!bellcore!nvuxr!deej "If this is paradise, I wish I had a lawnmower."