The North American Numbering Plan (NANP) is a system for three-digit area codes and seven-digit telephone numbers that direct telephone calls to particular regions on a public switched telephone network (PSTN), where they are further routed by the local network. It is applied to the United States and its territories; Canada; Bermuda; and many Caribbean nations. World map showing North America A satellite composite image of North America. ... A telephone numbering plan is a system that allows subscribers to make and receive telephone calls across long distances. ... The telephone or phone (Greek: tele = far away and phone = voice) is a telecommunications device which is used to transmit and receive sound (most commonly voice and speech) across distance. ... The public switched telephone network (PSTN) is the concentration of the worlds public circuit-switched telephone networks, in much the same way that the Internet is the concentration of the worlds public IP-based packet-switched networks. ... An insular area is United States territory that is neither a part of one of the fifty states nor a part of the District of Columbia, the nations federal district. ... Central America and the Caribbean (detailed pdf map) The Caribbean, (Spanish: Caribe; French: Caraïbe or more commonly Antilles; Dutch: Cariben or Caraïben, or more commonly Antillen) or the West Indies, is a group of islands and countries which are in or border the Caribbean Sea which lies on...

Developed in 1947 and first implemented in 1951 by AT&T, the NANP set out to to simplify and facilitate direct dialing of long distance calls. It initially applied only to the U.S. and Canada, but at the request of the British Colonial Office, Bermuda and the British West Indies (including Trinidad and Tobago, just off the coast of Venezuela) were added to the North American system given their historic telecommunications administration through Canada as parts of the British Empire and their continued close associations with that country. 1947 (MCMXLVII) was a common year starting on Wednesday (the link is to a full 1947 calendar). ... 1951 (MCMLI) was a common year starting on Monday; see its calendar. ... AT&T Inc. ... The Secretary of State for the Colonies or Colonial Secretary was the British Cabinet official in charge of managing the various British colonies. ... The British West Indies are those islands in the Caribbean that are or were British colonies. ... The British Empire was, at one time, the foremost global power, and the most extensive empire in the history of the world. ...

Despite the "North American" name of the calling plan, Mexico and the Central American countries are not part of the system, although Mexican participation was planned and partly implemented, with direct dialing from the NANP to some parts of Mexico until 1991. Map of Central America Central America is the subcontinent of America between North America and South America, beginning south of the Gulf of Mexico (the exact location is defined variously) and ending at the border between Panama and Colombia. ... 1991 (MCMXCI) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

The NANP is administered by the North American Numbering Plan Administration (NANPA). NANPA can mean: the North American Numbering Plan Administrator [1] the North American Nature Photography Association [2] Nanpa also refers to the Japanese renai games of Dokyusei ...

Current NANP can be summed up via the following: NPA = [2-9][0-8][0-9] Nxx = [2-9][0-9][0-9] Station = [0-9][0-9][0-9][0-9]

Dialing plans

Dialing plans vary from place to place depending on whether an area has overlays (multiple area codes serving the same area) and whether the jurisdiction requires toll alerting (a leading 1 for toll calls). The NANPA's web site includes dialing plan information in its information on individual area codes.

In areas without overlays and without toll alerting, including California and much of Illinois, New York, and New Jersey, calls within an area code are dialed as seven digits (7D) and calls outside the area code as 1 followed by 10 digits (1+10D). Most areas allow permissive dialing of 1+10D even for calls that could be dialed as 7D. The number of digits dialed is unrelated to whether a call is local or toll.

In areas without overlays and with toll alerting, including most rural jurisdictions, local calls within the same area code are dialed as 7D, toll calls are dialed as 1+10D. In some places, local calls to other area codes are 1+10D, in others they can be dialed as 10D without the leading 1.

In areas with overlays, local calls are all dialed as 10D. (In New York City, the preferred form is 1+10D but 10D also works.) In areas without toll alerting, all calls to numbers within the caller's area code and overlay codes serving the same area can be dialed as either 10D or 1+10D, while calls to other area codes must be 1+10D. In areas with toll alerting, all toll calls must be dialed as 1+10D. Most areas permit local calls to be dialed as 1+10D except for Texas which requires that callers know which numbers are local and which are toll, dialing 10D for all local calls and 1+10D for all toll calls.

The current profusion of dialing plans is quite confusing, and it appears likely that all areas will converge on 1+10D even in places where other forms are permitted. Residents of areas with toll alerting tend to feel quite vehemently that it is a necessary service, while residents of areas without toll alerting do not miss it.

Charges

Despite the similar dialing format, calls between different countries and territories that use the NANP are not charged as domestic. Calls between the US and Canada are treated as international, although typically charged at lower rates than calls to other countries. Calls to other destinations in the NANP area can be high; for example, it generally costs more to call Bermuda from the US than it does to call the UK or Japan, even though the dialing format is the same. Similarly, calls from Bermuda to US numbers, (including toll-free 1-800), incur high international rates. This was because many of the island nations at the time implemented a plan of subsidizing the cost of local phone services, from directly charging heavier pricing levies on the internatonal Long Distance services. On account of these higher fees, a handful of scams had taken advantage of customers' unfamiliarity with pricing structure to call the legacy regional 809 area code. Some scams lured customers from the U.S. and Canada into placing expensive calls to the Caribbean, by representing the area code (809) as a regular domestic, low-cost, or toll-free call. These scams are currently on the decline with many of the Cable and Wireless service monopolies being opened up to competition thus bringing rates down. A toll-free telephone number (or Freephone number in the UK) is a special telephone number, in which the calling party is not charged for the call by the telephone operator. ... A toll-free telephone number (or Freephone number in the UK) is a special telephone number, in which the calling party is not charged for the call by the telephone operator. ... A confidence trick, confidence game, or con for short, (also known as a scam) is an attempt to intentionally mislead a person or persons (known as the mark) usually with the goal of financial or other gain. ... Central America and the Caribbean (detailed pdf map) The Caribbean, (Spanish: Caribe; French: Caraïbe or more commonly Antilles; Dutch: Cariben or Caraïben, or more commonly Antillen) or the West Indies, is a group of islands and countries which are in or border the Caribbean Sea which lies on... // Present day 809 The area codes (809) along with (829) (as an overlay), are today the local telephone area codes solely for the Dominican Republic Following Saint Vincent and the Grenadines in the year 1999, no other countries still pass-thru old numbers from the legacy 809 area code. ... Cable & Wireless (West Indies) Ltd. ...

History

In order to facilitate direct dialing calls, the NANP was created and instituted by AT&T, then the U.S. telephone monopoly, in 1947. However, the first customer-dialed calls using area codes did not occur until late 1951. Originally there were 86 codes, with the biggest population areas getting the numbers that took the shortest time to dial on rotary phones. That is why New York City was given 212, Los Angeles given 213, and Chicago 312, while Vermont received 802 (a total of 20 clicks, 8+10+2). Four areas received the then-maximum number of 21 clicks: South Dakota (605), North Carolina (704), South Carolina (803), and Nova Scotia/Prince Edward Island in the Canadian Maritimes (902). Additionally, in the original plan a middle digit of zero generally indicated the number was for an entire state or province, while a middle digit of one indicated that it was for a smaller region. Direct Distance Dialing was a telephony innovation that enabled subscribers to call long distance numbers (Those outside the local exchange) without having to go though an operator. ... AT&T Inc. ... In economics, a monopoly (from the Greek monos, one + polein, to sell) is defined as a persistent market situation where there is only one provider of a kind of product or service. ... 1947 (MCMXLVII) was a common year starting on Wednesday (the link is to a full 1947 calendar). ... 1951 (MCMLI) was a common year starting on Monday; see its calendar. ... The rotary dial is a device mounted on or in a telephone or switchboard that is designed to send interrupted electrical pulses, known as pulse dialing, corresponding to the number dialled. ... Nickname: The Big Apple Motto: Official website: City of New York Location [[Image:|250px|250px|Location of City of New York, New York]] Location in the state of New York Government Counties (Boroughs) Bronx (The Bronx) New York (Manhattan) Queens (Queens) Kings (Brooklyn) Richmond (Staten Island) Mayor Michael Bloomberg (R... Nickname: City of Angels Official website: http://www. ... Chicago (officially named the City of Chicago) is the third largest city in the United States (after New York City and Los Angeles), with an official population of 2,896,016, as of the 2000 census. ... Official language(s) None Capital Montpelier Largest city Burlington Area  - Total  - Width  - Length  - % water  - Latitude  - Longitude Ranked 43rd 24,923 km² 130 km 260 km 3. ... Official language(s) English Capital Pierre Largest city Sioux Falls Area  - Total  - Width  - Length  - % water  - Latitude  - Longitude Ranked 17th 199,905 km² 340 km 610 km 1. ... Official language(s) English Capital Raleigh Largest city Charlotte Area  - Total  - Width  - Length  - % water  - Latitude  - Longitude Ranked 28th 139,509 km² 805 km 240 km 9. ... Official language(s) English Capital Columbia Largest city Columbia Area  - Total  - Width  - Length  - % water  - Latitude  - Longitude Ranked 40th 82,965 km² 320 km 420 km 6 32°430N to 35°12N 78°030W to 83°20W Population  - Total (2000)  - Density Ranked 26th 4,012... Motto: Munit Haec et Altera Vincit (Latin: One defends and the other conquers) Official languages None Capital Halifax Largest city Halifax Lieutenant-Governor Myra Freeman Premier Rodney MacDonald (PC) Parliamentary representation  - House seat  - Senate seats 11 10 Area Total  â€¢ Land  â€¢ Water    (% of total)  Ranked 12th 55,283 km² 53,338... Motto: Parva Sub Ingenti (Latin: The small under the protection of the great) Official languages English Capital Charlottetown Largest city Charlottetown Lieutenant-Governor J. Léonce Bernard Premier Pat Binns (PC) Parliamentary representation  - House seat  - Senate seats 4 4 Area Total  â€¢ Land  â€¢ Water    (% of total)  Ranked 13th 5,660 km... The Maritimes or Maritime provinces are a region of Canada on the Atlantic coast, consisting of New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island. ...

At first, area codes were in the form N-Y-X, where N is any number 2~9, Y is 0 or 1, and X is any number 1~9. The restriction on N saves 0 for calling the operator, and 1 for signaling a long-distance call. The restriction on the second digit, limiting it to 0 or 1, was designed to help telephone equipment recognize the difference between a three-digit area code and a three-digit prefix to the telephone number. For example, when a caller dialed "1-202-555-1212", the switching equipment would recognize that "202" was an area code because of the middle 0, and route the call appropriately. If a caller were to dial 1-345-6789, the 4 would be recognized as a long-distance call within the area code and routed as such, without waiting to see or guessing at how many digits the caller meant to enter. A telephone numbering plan is a system that allows subscribers to make and receive telephone calls across long distances. ...

In the late 1980s and early 1990s, NANPA (then still part of Bellcore) began to urge and later require all long-distance calls within each area to include the code, so that badly-needed prefixes with 0 or 1 in the middle could be assigned to local telephone exchanges. Telcordia Technologies, formerly Bellcore, is an American telecommunications company created in 1984 after the breakup of AT&T. It was split from the original Bell Labs as part of the negotiated consent decree with the US government, and served Research & Development and standards setting functions for the resulting seven Baby... In the field of telecommunications, a telephone exchange (US: telephone switch) is a piece of equipment that connects phone calls. ...

Calls to Mexico (until 1991)

Until 1991, calls to some areas of Mexico from the United States and Canada were made using the North American Numbering Plan area codes. For example, to call a number in northwest Mexico and Mexico City before 1991: 1991 (MCMXCI) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Mexico City (Spanish: Ciudad de México) is the name of a megacity located in the Valley of Mexico (Valle de México), a large valley in the high plateaus (altiplano) in the South of Mexico, about 2,240 meters (7,349 feet) above sea-level, surrounded on most sides...

• 1 905 xxx xxxx (Mexico City)
• 1 706 xxx xxxx (northwest Mexico)

From that year, this was discontinued in favor of the international format:

• 011 52 5 xxx xxxx (Mexico City; now 011 52 55 xxxx xxxx)
• 011 52 6 xxx xxxx (northwest Mexico; now 011 52 6xx xxx xxxx)

Expansion of area codes

Due to a combination of increasing demand for telephone services (particularly due to widescale adoption of fax and cell phone communications), and the practice of allocating phone numbers in large blocks to companies for issuing, many area codes began to exhaust their supply of available numbers (code "in jeopardy" in telecom jargon), and additional area codes were needed. In general, area codes were added either as "splits" (in which an area code was divided into two or more regions, one retaining the older area code and the other areas receiving a new code), or "overlays", in which multiple area codes were assigned to the same geographical area. Subtle variations of these techniques have been used as well, such as "dedicated overlays" (in which the new overlaid area code was reserved for a particular type of service, such as cell phone and fax machine; while this is still generally done, it is now against Federal law to absolutely assign an area code for this) and "concentrated overlays" (in which some of the area retained a single area code, while the rest of the region received an overlay code). Fax (short for facsimile - from Latin fac simile, make similar, i. ... Motorola T2288 mobile phone A mobile phone is a portable electronic device which behaves as a normal telephone whilst being able to move over a wide area (compare cordless phone which acts as a telephone only within a limited range). ...

After the remaining valid area codes were used up in expansion, in 1995 the rapid increase in the need for more area codes (both splits and overlays) forced NANPA to allow the digits 2~8 to be used as a middle digit in new area code assignments, with 9 being reserved as a "last resort" for potential future expansion. Area codes, or "number planning areas" ending in double digits, such as toll-free 800, 888, 877, and 866, personal 700 numbers, and high-toll 900 numbers, are reserved as Easily-recognizable codes (ERCs) and are not issued to actual areas. (Nevada was declined lucky 777 for this reason, however the Florida Space Coast area did get the 321 "countdown" area code as requested by Richard Cheshire [1].) 1995 (MCMXCV) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... A 1-900 telephone number, in the North American Numbering Plan, usually has the form 1-900-###-####. A call to one of these numbers can result in a high per-minute or per-call charge. ... In telephony, an ERC is an easily-recognizable code for the North American Numbering Plan. ... Official language(s) English Capital Tallahassee Largest city Jacksonville Area  - Total  - Width  - Length  - % water  - Latitude  - Longitude Ranked 22nd 170 451 km² 260 km 800 km 17. ... The Space Coast is a region in the U.S. state of Florida around Kennedy Space Center, where NASA frequently launches rockets and shuttles into space. ... A countdown is the backward counting to indicate the seconds, days, etc. ...

Splits and overlays

By 1995, many cities in the United States and Canada had more than one area code, either through splitting the city into different areas (splits) or having more than one area code for the same geographical area (overlays). For example, in Manhattan, New York, subscribers' numbers had the NPA code 212, but two additional codes—first 917 (which initially was exclusively for cell phones and faxes until struck down in a federal court), then 646—were also introduced. This means that the area code must be dialed, even for local calls. In other areas, 10-digit or 11-digit dialing is now required for all local calls. Atlanta, Georgia, was the first city in the United States to have mandatory 10-digit dialing throughout its metro area, roughly coinciding with the Olympic Games in Atlanta. At first, the new calling plan wasn't mandatory but was highly encouraged by television advertisements. After some time, though, it became mandatory to dial all 10 digits. Atlanta was used as the test case because at the time, it enjoyed the world's largest fiber optic bundle (equal to five times that of New York's), it was a big enough city without being too big, it had (and still has) the largest local toll-free calling area in the world, and it was (and still is) home to BellSouth, the Southeastern Regional Bell Operating Company. 1995 (MCMXCV) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Borough of Manhattan, highlighted in yellow, lies between the East River and the Hudson River. ... Official language(s) None, English de facto Capital Albany Largest city New York City Area  - Total  - Width  - Length  - % water  - Latitude  - Longitude Ranked 27th 141,205 km² 455 km 530 km 13. ... This article is about the state capital of Georgia. ... Nickname: The Big Apple Motto: Official website: City of New York Location [[Image:|250px|250px|Location of City of New York, New York]] Location in the state of New York Government Counties (Boroughs) Bronx (The Bronx) New York (Manhattan) Queens (Queens) Kings (Brooklyn) Richmond (Staten Island) Mayor Michael Bloomberg (R... BellSouth Corporation NYSE: BLS is a U.S. telecommunications company based in Atlanta, Georgia. ... The current local phone company boundaries. ...

• 7-digit dialing: xxx xxxx (NPA code not required)
• 10-digit dialing: NPA xxx xxxx
• 11-digit dialing: 1 NPA xxx xxxx

The overlap between area codes and exchange prefixes has occasionally produced some confusion because the three digits can be the same for both. Nashua, New Hampshire, for example, has a local exchange that begins 888, which is also an area code for toll-free calls. If somebody in Nashua means to call 1-888-555-1212 but forgets the initial "1," he or she will actually dial the local number 1-603-888-5551. This, however, is generally not a problem in major metropolitan areas with overlapping area codes, which were mandated by the FCC to dial all ten digits for all local calls so as not to give new numbers or telecommunications providers a "disadvantage." Nickname: Gate City Official website: www. ... Official language(s) English Capital Concord Largest city Manchester Area  - Total  - Width  - Length  - % water  - Latitude  - Longitude Ranked 46th 24,239 km² 110 km 305 km 3. ... A metropolitan area is a large population center consisting of a large city and its adjacent zone of influence, or of several neighboring cities or towns and adjoining areas, with one or more large cities serving as its hub or hubs. ... The FCCs official seal. ...

Expansion issues

Depending on the techniques used for area code expansion, the effect on telephone users varies. In areas in which overlays were used, this generally avoids the need for converting telephone numbers, so existing directories, business records, letterheads, and advertising can retain the same numbers, which the overlay is used for new number allocation. The primary impact on telephone users is the necessity of remembering and dialing 10- or 11-digit numbers when only 7-digit dialing was previously permissible.

The use of a split instead of an overlay generally avoids the requirement for mandatory area-code dialing, but at the expense of having to convert some of the numbers to the new area code. In addition to the requirements of updating records and directories to accommodate the new numbers, for efficient conversion this requires a period of "permissive dialing" in which both the new and old area codes of the split are allowed to work. Also, in many splits there were significant technical issues involved, especially when the area code splits occurred over different boundaries than the phone network divisions.

As an extreme example of a split, in 1998 the Twin Cities, which until that point used the 612 area code, split into the 612 and 651 codes, with St. Paul and the eastern metropolitan area receiving the new 651 code. However, the state Public Utility Commission mandated that the split boundary exactly follow town boundaries (which were distinctly different from telephone exchange boundaries), and that all subscribers keep their 7-digit numbers. These two goals were directly at odds with one another, and there were more than 40 exchanges whose prefix territory straddled town boundaries along the zone split. The result was prefixes duplicated in both area codes, which counteracted much of the benefit of the split, with only 200 of 700 prefixes in 612 moving entirely to 651. As a result, in less than two years the 612 area code again exhausted its number space, and underwent a 3-way split in 2000, creating the 763 and 952 area codes. Again, the split followed political boundaries rather than rate center boundaries, resulting in additional split prefixes, and in a few cases resulted in numbers initially moved to area 651 being moved again to the 763 code in less than two years. 1998 (MCMXCVIII) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year of the Ocean. ... Twin cities are two towns or cities that are geographically close to each other and may seem to form a single unit, often referred to collectively. ... Motto: Nickname: Location in Ramsey County, Minnesota Founded 1851 Incorporated 1854 County Ramsey County Borough {{{borough}}} Parrish {{{parrish}}} Mayor Chris Coleman (DFL) Area  - Total  - Water 145. ... This article is about the year 2000. ...

Alphabetic mnemonic system

Another oddity of NANP telephone numbering is the popularity of alphabetic dialing. On most US and Canadian telephones, three letters appear on each number button from 2 through 9. This accommodates 24 letters. Historically, the letters Q and Z were omitted, though on some modern telephones, they are added, so that the alphabet is apportioned as follows:

 2 = ABC 3 = DEF 4 = GHI 5 = JKL 6 = MNO 7 = P(Q)RS 8 = TUV 9 = WXY(Z) 

No letters are allocated to the 1 or 0 keys (although some corporate voice mail systems are set up to count Q and Z as 1, and some old telephones assigned the Z to the digit 0). Voicemail (or voice mail; abbreviated v-mail or vmail) is a specific application of an interactive voice response system. ...

Originally, this scheme was meant as a mnemonic device for telephone number prefixes. When telephone numbers in the US were standardized in the mid-20th century, they were made seven digits long, including a two-digit prefix, the latter expressed as letters rather than numbers. (Before World War II, many localities used three letters and four numbers, and in much of California during this period, phone numbers had only six digits — two letters followed by four numbers.) The prefix was a name, and the first two or three letters (usually shown in capitals) of the name were dialed. Later, the third letter (where previously used) was replaced by a number; this generally happened after World War II, although New York City did this in 1930. Thus, the famous Glenn Miller tune "PEnnsylvania 6-5000" refers to a telephone number 736-5000, the number of the Hotel Pennsylvania, which still bears the same number today. Similarly, the classic Elizabeth Taylor film "BUtterfield 8" refers to the section of New York City where the film is set, where the telephone prefixes include 288 (on the East Side of Manhattan between roughly 64th and 86th Streets). This is why, in some works of fiction, phone numbers will begin with "KLondike 5", which translates to 555, a mostly unused and reserved exchange. Combatants Allies: • Poland, • UK & Commonwealth, • France/Free France, • Soviet Union, • USA, • China, ...and others• Axis: • Germany, • Italy, • Japan, • ...and others Casualties Military dead: 17 million Civilian dead: 33 million Total: 50 million Full list Military dead: 8 million Civilian dead: 4 million Total: 12 million Full list World War II... Official language(s) English Capital Sacramento Largest city Los Angeles Area  - Total  - Width  - Length  - % water  - Latitude  - Longitude Ranked 3rd 410,000 km² 402. ... Nickname: The Big Apple Motto: Official website: City of New York Location [[Image:|250px|250px|Location of City of New York, New York]] Location in the state of New York Government Counties (Boroughs) Bronx (The Bronx) New York (Manhattan) Queens (Queens) Kings (Brooklyn) Richmond (Staten Island) Mayor Michael Bloomberg (R... 1930 (MCMXXX) is a common year starting on Wednesday. ... Major Glenn Miller Glenn Miller (born Alton Glen Miller on March 1, 1904, in Clarinda, Iowa) was an American jazz musician and band leader in the swing era who was probably the genres best-selling performer from 1939-42. ... BUtterfield 8 is a 1960 film about a promiscuous model (Elizabeth Taylor) who fears that she is on the verge of crossing the line from slutitude to prostitution, until she and one of her paramours (Laurence Harvey) fall in love. ... The Borough of Manhattan, highlighted in yellow, lies between the East River and the Hudson River. ... In North America, telephone numbers with the prefix 555 are widely used for fictitious phone numbers in television shows, films and other types of fictional media. ...

Today this system has been abandoned (in fact it generally stopped by the mid-1970's), but alphabetic dialing remains as a commercial mnemonic gimmick, particularly when combined with toll-free numbers. For example, one can dial 1-800-FLOWERS to send flowers to someone. Sometimes, longer words are used - for example one might be invited to give money to a public radio station by dialing 1-866-KPBS-GIVE. The "number" is 8 digits long, but only the first seven need be dialed. If an eighth (or more) digit is dialed, the switching system will ignore it. Mobile users must manually drop any numbers past the seventh digit as mobile switching systems will not automatically ignore them, resulting in a failed call.

Cellular services and the NANP numbering scheme

A difference between the NANP system and other plans is that apart from area code 600 in Canada, no separate, non-geographical area codes have been created for cellular phones, as is the case in most European and Asian countries, where mobile services are assigned their own prefixes. This means that most North American mobile phones are assigned the same locality-specific codes as landlines, and calls to them are billed at the same rate. Consequently, the caller-pays pricing model adopted in other countries, in which calls to cell phones are charged at a higher nationwide rate, but receiving calls is free, could not be used. Instead, North American cellphone users are also generally charged to receive calls as well (subscriber pays). In the past, this discouraged mobile users from using the phones or giving out the number. However, robust price competition among carriers has led to dramatic cuts in the average price per minute for contract customers (for both inbound and outbound calls), which can compare favorably to those in caller-pays countries. Most users select bundle pricing plans that include all the minutes they expect to use in a month, and many carriers offer first inbound minute free or in some cases, entirely free inbound calling. Area code 600 is a non-geographic Canadian area code, reserved for specialized telecommunications uses such as teletype, datalink, ISDN and mobile satellite communication services. ... Cellular redirects here. ...

Some industry observers have blamed user pays as one of the main factors in the relatively low penetration rate of mobile telephony in the United States compared to that of Europe. However, in the wireless-subscriber-pays model the convenience of the mobility inures to the subscriber, which many users regard as a fairer pricing system. Callers from outside the local-calling region of the assigned number are, however, forced to pay for a long-distance call, although domestic long distance rates are generally lower than the rates caller-pays systems charge (conversely, an advantage of caller-pays is the relative absence of telemarketing and nuisance calls to mobile numbers). The integrated numbering plan also enables local number portability between fixed and wireless services within a region, allowing users to switch to mobile service while keeping their phone number, which is not a common option in caller-pays systems. Telemarketing is a registered trademark owned by Nadji Tehrani who founded TeleMarketing Magazine in 1982. ... Local number portability (LNP) is the ability to take an existing telephone number assigned by a local exchange carrier (LEC) or a mobile phone provider, and reassign it to another LEC or other telephony provider. ...

The initial plan for overlays did allow for providing separate area codes for use by mobile phones, faxes, pagers, etc., although these were still assigned to a specific geographical area, rather than the nationwide mobile area codes common to most other countries, and were charged at the same rate as other area codes. Initially, the new 917 area code for New York City was specifically assigned for this purpose within the 5 boroughs; however a Federal court struck this down and banned the use of an area code for a specific telephony purpose. Since mobile telephony is expanding faster than landline, new area codes typically have a disproportionately large fraction of mobile numbers, although landline and other services rapidly follow and local network portability can blur these distinctions. Nickname: The Big Apple Motto: Official website: City of New York Location [[Image:|250px|250px|Location of City of New York, New York]] Location in the state of New York Government Counties (Boroughs) Bronx (The Bronx) New York (Manhattan) Queens (Queens) Kings (Brooklyn) Richmond (Staten Island) Mayor Michael Bloomberg (R...

The experience of Hurricane Katrina and similar events revealed a possible disadvantage to the geographic assignment of cellular numbers. Many mobile phone users could not be reached, their phones rendered inoperable, even when they were far from the stricken areas, because the routing of calls to their phones depended on equipment in the affected area. A hypothetical caller-pays system with separate numbers would not have required geographical routing, although the existing system could have been designed to avoid this problem as well. Hurricane Katrina was the eleventh named storm, fifth hurricane, third major hurricane, and second Category 5 hurricane of the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season. ...

Another related issue for services like mobile telephony is the scarcity of telephone numbers. In contrast to other countries, where mobile and other special-number operators enjoy wide leeway to generate large numbers of telephone numbers, this is not an option in the NANP, with its geographical area codes with a fixed number of digits. Because of the scarcity of telephone numbers, the market value of each is consequently higher. This has been cited by mobile operators as another factor putting pressure on the development of cellular services, and of pay as you go in particular, although the decreasing rate at which new telephone numbers are being allocated suggests that other factors may be at work. Pay As You Go, often shortened to PAYG, is the general term for the concept of a prepay mobile phone. ...

New area codes

Prior to 1995, all other countries and territories outside the US and Canada, including Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands shared the NPA code 809, but were now able to have separate codes. Code (809) is now only used by the Dominican Republic. In 1997 the US Pacific Territories of the Northern Marianas and Guam became part of the NANP, as did American Samoa in October 2004. // Present day 809 The area codes (809) along with (829) (as an overlay), are today the local telephone area codes solely for the Dominican Republic Following Saint Vincent and the Grenadines in the year 1999, no other countries still pass-thru old numbers from the legacy 809 area code. ... 1997 (MCMXCVII in Roman) is a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Motto: E pluribus unum (1789 to 1956) (Latin: Out of Many, One) In God We Trust (1956 to present) Anthem: The Star-Spangled Banner Capital Washington, D.C. Largest city New York, New York Official language(s) None at federal level; English de facto Government • President  â€¢ Vice President Federal republic... The Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) is a commonwealth in political union with the United States of America at a strategic location in the West Pacific Ocean. ... 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Bermuda:

• Until 1995: +1 809 29x xxxx
• After 1995: +1 441 (xxx) xxxx

Puerto Rico:

• Until 1996: +1 809 xxx xxxx
• 1996-2001: +1 787 xxx xxxx
• After 2001: +1 787 xxx xxxx or +1 939 xxx xxxx (overlay for entire island)

US Virgin Islands:

• Until 1997: +1 809 xxx xxxx
• After 1997: +1 340 xxx xxxx

Northern Marianas:

• Until 1997: +670 xxx xxxx
• After 1997: +1 670 xxx xxxx

Guam:

• Until 1997: +671 xxx xxxx
• After 1997: +1 671 xxx xxxx

American Samoa:

• Until October 1, 2004: +684 xxx xxxx
• After October 2, 2004: +1 684 xxx xxxx

See also: Split from the 809 Area code // Present day 809 The area codes (809) along with (829) (as an overlay), are today the local telephone area codes solely for the Dominican Republic Following Saint Vincent and the Grenadines in the year 1999, no other countries still pass-thru old numbers from the legacy 809 area code. ...

Fictional telephone numbers

In American television shows and films, 555 (or, in older movies and shows, KLondike 5 or KLamath 5) is used as the first three digits of fictional telephone numbers, so if anyone is tempted to telephone a number seen on screen, it does not cause a nuisance to any actual person. (A classic example of such a nuisance is the 1982 song 867-5309/Jenny by Tommy Tutone, which is still the cause of a large number of nuisance calls.) However, not all numbers beginning with "555" are fictional—for example, 555-1212 is the number for directory assistance in many places. In many, but not all areas, dialing "555" numbers other than 555-1212 will actually get you to directory assistance as well. In fact, only 555-0100 through 555-0199 are now specifically reserved for fictional use, with the other numbers having been released for actual assignment. Some movies have started to use fictional telephone numbers starting with "1", giving someone a "telephone number" of 167-1402 in the film, for example. Film may refer to: photographic film a motion picture in academics, the study of motion pictures as an art form a thin skin or membrane, or any covering or coating, whether transparent or opaque a thin layer of liquid, either on a solid or liquid surface or free-standing Film... In North America, telephone numbers with the prefix 555 are widely used for fictitious phone numbers in television shows, films and other types of fictional media. ... A telephone number is a sequence of decimal digits (0-9) that is used for identifying a destination telephone line in a telephone network. ... 1982 (MCMLXXXII) is a common year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 867-5309/Jenny is the name of a song written by Alex Call and Jim Keller and performed by Tommy Tutone which peaked at Number 4 on the Billboard Pop Singles chart in 1982 (see 1982 in music). ... Tommy Tutone is a rock band from San Francisco, California, best known for its 1982 hit 867-5309/Jenny, which peaked at #4 on the Billboard pop charts. ... 555-1212 is the number one dials in order to reach Directory Assistance in the North American Numbering Plan. ... Directory assistance (in the UK, directory enquiries) in telecommunications is a telephone call one can make to find out a specific phone number of a residence or business. ... 555-1212 is the number one dials in order to reach Directory Assistance in the North American Numbering Plan. ...

Future expansion of NANP

The North American Numbering Plan Administration (NANPA) is now overseen by NeuStar Inc., which will face the task of adding at least one or two digits to the system within the next 25 years, likely before 2030. During that time, all public and private phone systems on the continent will have to be upgraded and reprogrammed (or even replaced) to recognize the new dialing rules. NeuStar (NYSE: NSR) is a provider of essential clearinghouse services to the global communications and Internet industry. ... The year 2030 (MMXXX) in the Gregorian calendar corresponds to 5790-5791 in the Hebrew calendar. ...

The plans being considered now add a 1 or 0 to the end of the area code or the beginning of the local 7-digit number (or both), which will require mandatory 10-digit dialing (even for local calls) be in place everywhere, well before the transition period. In another proposal, existing codes may be changed to "a9bc" (e.g. San Francisco 415 would become 4915); once that conversion is complete, the new second digit would be opened for a new range. Other proposals include reallocating blocks of numbers assigned to smaller long distance carriers or unused reserved services. A telephone numbering plan is a system that allows subscribers to make and receive telephone calls across long distances. ... (Redirected from 10 digit dialing) In the United States and Canada, 10-digit dialing is a popular term used to refer to the practice of including the area code of a phone number when dialing. ...

Other vertical service codes, such as *69 (callback) and *70 (suspend call waiting), are also getting an extra digit, as have long-distance service provider codes such as 10-321 (now 10-10-321), all requiring the coordination of the NANPA. A vertical service code or VSC is a special telephone number that usually begins with the * (star) key on the touch tone keypad. ... In telecommunications, a callback (also written as call-back) occurs when the originator of a call is immediately called back in a second call as a response. ... Call waiting, in telephony, is a feature on some telephone networks. ...

Special numbers and codes

Some common special numbers in the North American system:

• 0 - Telephone Operator Assistance.
• 00 - Long Distance Operator Assistance.
• 011 - International Access Code. (For all destinations outside the NANP)
• 01 - International Access Code using Operator Assistance. (For all destinations outside the NANP)
• 10x xxxx - Used to select use of an alternative long distance provider.
• 211 - Community Information or Social services. (In some cities)
• 311 - City government or Non-emergency police matters. (In some cities).
• 411 - Local telephone directory service. (Some telephone companies provide national directory assistance).
• 511 - Traffic, road, and tourist information or reads back the number you are calling from (i.e. drop line ID). (In some cities and states).
• 611 - Telephone line repair service. (Some telephone companies use this instead of 4104 or 811).
• 711 - Relay service for hearing-impaired or mute customers,
• 811 - "Dig safe" underground pipe safety line
• 911 - Emergency dispatcher for fire, ambulance, police etc.
• (Area Code) + 555-1212 - Non-local directory service.

There are also special codes, such as: To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... In the United States, 3-1-1 is a non-emergency telephone number, meant to provide a quick, easy to remember, and universal alternative to 9-1-1. ... This article discusses the telephone directory number 411. ... 5-1-1 is a transit and traffic information hotline in some regions of the United States. ... In Canada and the U.S. (with the exception of New York City), 611 is the abbreviated dialing telephone number one dials if there is a problem with the telephone service, or with a payphone. ... In Canada and U.S., the 711 telephone number is used for the Telecommunications Relay Service to translate from TDD for the deaf to voice, and vice versa. ... In the North American Numbering Plan (NANP), particularly in Canada and the U.S., the telephone number 811 is a direct line to the business office of the telephone service provider servicing the line. ... Most emergency vehicles in the US and Canada display Emergency 911 9-1-1 (nine-one-one) is the emergency telephone number for the North American Numbering Plan (NANP). ... Many countries public telephone networks have a single emergency telephone number, sometimes known as the universal emergency telephone number or occasionally the emergency services number, that allows a caller to contact local emergency services for assistance. ... A vertical service code or VSC is a special telephone number that usually begins with the * (star) key on the touch tone keypad. ...

• *57 and 1157 (Large per-use fee.) Used to "trace" harassment phone calls, and keep results of trace at phone company.)
• *66 and 1166 To keep retrying a busy-line
• *67 and 1167 Caller ID Block
• *69 and 1169 Call Return caller may press '1' to return call after hearing number
• *70 and 1170 Cancel call waiting on a call-by-call basis
• *82 and 1182 Releases Caller ID block on a call-by-call basis

Note: The four digit numbers do not work in some areas

Not all NANPA countries use the same codes. For example, the emergency telephone number is not always 911: Trinidad and Tobago uses 999, as in the United Kingdom. Many countries public telephone networks have a single emergency telephone number, sometimes known as the universal emergency telephone number or occasionally the emergency services number, that allows a caller to contact local emergency services for assistance. ... 999 is the United Kingdoms emergency telephone number along with the EU standard 112. ...

Despite its importance as a share of the worldwide telephone system, few of the NANP's codes, such as 911, have been adopted outside the system. Most countries outside North America have chosen the International Telecommunication Union's 00 as their international access number; 112 is the standard emergency number in European Union alongside existing emergency numbers. Only the toll-free prefix 800 has been widely adopted elsewhere, including as the international toll-free number. Monument in Bern, Switzerland. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Emergency telephone number. ...

List of NANPA countries and territories

• Anguilla
• Antigua and Barbuda
• Bahamas
• Barbados
• Bermuda
• British Virgin Islands
• Canada
• Cayman Islands
• Dominica
• Dominican Republic
• Grenada
• Jamaica
• Montserrat
• Saint Kitts and Nevis
• Saint Lucia
• Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
• Trinidad and Tobago
• Turks and Caicos Islands
• United States, including Guam, Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, U.S. Virgin Islands, and American Samoa

See also

• List of North American area codes
• List of country calling codes
• Bell System

This is a list of North American telephone area codes in effect for the North American Numbering Plan. ... // At a glance In depth Zone 1 – North American Numbering Plan Area nanpa. ... The Bell System was a trademark and service mark used by the US telecommunications company American Telephone & Telegraph Company (AT&T) and its affiliated companies to co-brand their extensive circuit-switched telephone network and their affiliations with each other. ...

External links

• North American Numbering Plan Administration (NANPA)
• Map of the original 86 area codes from 1947
• Animation of US area codes since 1947
• NANPA.com: Area codes map
• lincmad.com Has historical NPA information including coverage maps