Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!warble!vector!nobody From: USEREAFJ%mts.rpi.edu@itsgw.rpi.edu Newsgroups: comp.dcom.telecom Subject: (none) Message-ID: Date: 6 Sep 88 02:12:54 GMT Sender: chip@vector.UUCP Lines: 38 Approved: telecom-request@vector.uucp (USENET Telecom Moderator) X-TELECOM-Digest: volume 8, issue 139, message 3 X-Submissions-To: telecom@xx.lcs.mit.edu (Mailing List Coordinator) X-Administrivia-To: telecom-request@vector.uucp (USENET Telecom Moderator) The New York 212-540 prefix is indeed a special one. One can only dial it in one's own area code. IE, from 914 (Westchester County), you can dial 540-3000, but not 212-540-3000 or any other number with the 540 prefix. - The same goes for the 550 "Chat Line" services in the New York Metro area. One can only dial 550-xxxx; if it's preceeded by an area code the call will not go through. - The 970 prefix used to allow you to put an area code in front of it when calling from the New York area, but then they put adlut messages there and stopped that, maybe because it would be easier to block if blocking was desired. - You can still call the 976 numbers in New York by placing an area code in front of 976-1212 for the region in which you desire weather. IE, 914-976-1212 gives you the weather in Westchester, 212 gives New York City, 516 Long Island, etc. - Both the 976 and the 970 numbers can be accessed from outside the New York area as a toll call. Some areas (Minneapolis, perhaps?) don't allow 976 calls from outside the area (612), but this is probably because the Bell Co. there puts all sorts of programs on the 976 prefix, like weather, chat lines, and interractive, and does not want out-of-area callers participating in local chat lines (??). Cities like LA do seem to be accessible from outside the area, so I'n not exactly sure shy some areas do indeed premit long distance callers to access their services and some do not. Anyonee have any ideas on this? - Finally, I noticed that the 450 "exchange" in New York is not used in 212 OR 718, which is odd, since almost every other exchange that the telco doesn't use for itself is occupied. Yet the 450 exchange doesn't seem to do anything. The minute you dial 450 (from both Crossabar and ESS/DMS/etc exchanges), you get a "Sorry..call can't be completed" message. What could they be saving this one for??? Hmmmm..... - Doug - usereafj@rpitsmts.bitnet (temp.)