Re: [telecom] New Jersey gets new area code

Except they don't. When your number moved from 414 into 262 everyone in the new 262 area had to tell all their friends outside the 262 area that their numbers had changed. There may be a few people who still never call anyone outside their home town, but for everyone else, it's a significant pain. With overlays, nobody's number changes.

Uh, since the boundaries haven't changed, they mean exactly what they meant all along. The meaning of 212 didn't change when they overlaid

626 on it. It's still Manhattan.

R's, John

PS:

Ah, well.

Telcos don't make the split-vs.-overlay decisions; the state regu- latory agency does. In the case of Wisconsin that's the Public Service Commission.

It matters a lot if you're a business with customers outside of your local area. I attended the public hearing when the PSC was considering the overlay-v.-split question for 920. One participant, owner of a personnel-recruitment firm ("headhunter") for the hospitality industry was concerned that a split would change the area code of his company, resulting in possible loss of customers. Another participant, the board chairman of the Town of Oconomowoc, was concerned that the proposed split line would split the town.

Although I didn't attend the public hearing, the entire argument played out again when the 414-262 split was considered. That split essentially reduced the size of 414 to Milwaukee county. If 414 ever needs relief I predict that it will be an overlay, not another split.

Here is a link to an article I wrote about the 414-262 split:

The same argument continues to this day. Here is a link to an article about the overlay-v.-split question for 715 and 920.

The overlay on 715 (534) has been implemented.

Apparently the overlay on 920 (274) is still pending.

Neal McLain Brazoria, Texas

"Naveen Albert" asked:

I vigorously disagree.

Unlike a split, with an overlay no one has to surrender their number for a new one. They keep it, period.

With an split, the border is often politically contentious. Are *you* still part of Gotham City, or now labeled some suburban type? (NYC: when Brooklyn, Queens and Staten Island were forced into 718.)

Making splits requires predicting which parts will grow faster, and which slower. Otherwise you soon split again.

With an overlay, the initial overlay is the hard-to-adjust event. When you overlay another, it's a yawn. In Maryland, 443 overlaid 410 in 1997. In 2012, 667 was also added; no one blinked.

By contrast, splitting into smaller and smaller areas gets worse each time. Look up the history of 312; originally, it covered 16,000^2 miles. Three splits later, it's about five miles^2.

AND

The only "pain" of an overlay is 10D dialing. I don't know where to find a cellphone using Millennial who knows how to dial 7D.

***** Moderator's Note *****

I do! I DO!! I even know how to dial 5D!

Oh, wait a minute ...

Sorry, wrong millennium.

Bill Horne Moderator

In article you write:

My daughter certainly does. Our area code 607 was one of the earlier splits, hacked out of 315 and 716 in 1954, and we've been snoozing ever since. (We proudly call ourselves Centrally Isolated.)

All 607 exchanges have 7D dialing, even the mobile ones, even though the area is split between two LATAs, so the price for a 7D call from a landline might be free (local), cheap (intra-LATA toll) or fairly cheap (inter-LATA toll.)

The NANPA exhaust analysis says we will never need an overlay. So there.

R's, John

***** Moderator's Note *****

John, I envy you: here in western North Carolina, most landlines can dial 7D, but cellphones have to dial 10D, and it's very common to see phone numbers advertised without the "828" area code. Not only does this confuse many new arrivals who bring cell phones, but if there's ever an overlay here, there'll be a meltdown.

Bill Horne Moderator

When electronic switching came along in the early 1980s, some small towns then lost their ability to dial only five digits for local calls. Earlier in this newsgroup Neal gave an excellent explanation of absorbers.

Fast forward to today, it seems most callers have cell phones which require ten digit dialing and also have speed call, so the ten digit dialing is not a burden.

I still have a rotary phone and the ten digits are a pain. But I mostly use a Touch Tone phone for outgoing calls.

Indeed, I wonder, today how many rotary-pulse calls are offered to telephone exchanges. I also wonder how long they'll be accepted.

***** Moderator's Note *****

I'd guess "forever" - the switch vendors have already sunk all the costs for development and marketing, so they'll be very reluctant to remove features that are still in use and for which they collect royalties every year.

In addition, I doubt ANY politician would allow any change that might cause some voter to be cut off form 911 or their doctor. All things considered, I believe that the "500" set will be usable for the foreseeable future.

Bill Horne Moderator

I was at the California PUC meeting to discuss the 415-650 split (many years ago). Stanford University pointed out that their catalogs were in high school libraries around the country, and were often not refreshed for many years. At least one security contractor said that he would have to go out to every single property (and he had thousands) and re-program every dial-out device. PUC did the split anyway, promising us at least ten years of stability (big deal!).

Two years later, they were back to request another split. I went to that meeting, and after hearing their arguments, I told them that even though the many competing phone companies did not want to tell the public how many lines they needed, the PUC had a right to that information, and all those companies who needed less than ten lines in an office could split a single block of 10,000 lines rather than giving them 10,000 lines each. They cancelled the split, and we have not heard anything about another split or overlay for 650 since.

Mark Kaminsky

My cell phones don't require 10 digit dialing. Same with my VoIP, though I have no way to know what happens once the dialing gets on the other side of the VoIP server.

But we don't have overlays. I believe whether 10 are required or not depends on your state's PUC. If there are overlays, there will be a lot of political pressure (from the "new" LEC) to require 10 for all calls so they won't be at a disadvantage.

In article you write:

NANPA has reports on their web site at

At this point they estimate that 406 will fill up in the 3rd quarter of 2029.

R's, John

P.S.: perhaps you could consider getting a touch tone phone between now and then.

Message-ID: For Neil (sic) McLain:

See "LincMad's New Area Code Dates" page:

Area code 406 is not listed implying that it is not in jeopardy.

Wikipedia doesn't mention any relief activity in 406.

Neal McLain Brazoria, Texas

Here is another article, this from the Phila Inqr. It includes a map of NJ area codes and counties.