Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!accuvax.nwu.edu!nucsrl!telecom-request From: Chris Johnston Newsgroups: comp.dcom.telecom Subject: Why Can't I Use 1+10 Dialing For All Calls? Message-ID: <2790@accuvax.nwu.edu> Date: 10 Jan 90 19:43:16 GMT Sender: news@accuvax.nwu.edu Organization: TELECOM Digest Lines: 37 Approved: Telecom@eecs.nwu.edu X-Submissions-To: telecom@eecs.nwu.edu X-Administrivia-To: telecom-request@eecs.nwu.edu X-Telecom-Digest: Volume 10, Issue 21, message 3 of 3 When I was in Oakland (415) last summer I wasted nearly 20 minutes trying to call a San Francisco number. First I dialed 1-415-123-4567 and got an intercept "You do not need to dial 1 before this number". So I dialed 415-123-4567 and got the message "You must dial 1 before this number". Eventually I figured out I was already in 415 and was required to use the seven digit number. Yesterday something similar happened on the Howard "L" platform. One end of the platform is in Evanston the other in Chicago. Since I wanted to call a 708 number I carefully checked the number card on the (Illinois Bell) pay phone it (incorrectly) read 312. So I dialed 1-708-xxx-xxxx and got a recording which sounded like a local telco installer who gruffly said " dial 1 " I redialed without the areacode and got right through. Why can't I always use eleven digit dialing? Why must I know the local geography to dial a phone? Does anybody check these messages to see if they make sense? Is every switch message recorded locally? Could this be an old switch which is not centrally maintained? cj [Moderator's Note: Please double-check on this. The elevated platform is entirely in Chicago. The City of Evanston begins about five feet west of the embankment, and runs north parallel to the tracks for some distance. Several yards north where the turn-around is wedged into the corner of Clark Street (aka Chicago Avenue in Evanston) and Jonquil Terrace is Chicago. Evanston is on the west side of the street. Then, Chicago has a wedge that runs a block north, and terminates at the wall of the Calvary Cemetery. It is only at that point, where the tracks cross Clark Street/Chicago Avenue & Jonquil Terrace that the city of Evanston is east of the tracks. The last time I was there, the pay phones on the platform and the station downstairs were all Hollycourt 5 numbers, which is a Chicago (312-465) exchange. PT]