Wes Leatherock wrote:
Local calls within the Kansas City Metro Area, that cross the state and area code line, i.e., calls that are between 816/MO and 913/KS, have required ten-digit dialing for several years now. THe call is still a local (free) call, and a 1+ is not required (although I don't know if 1+ is permitted optionally, but I tend to doubt it). Ten-digit local dialing across the state and area code boundary went mandatory on December 4, 1999. It had been officially permissive since June 5,
1999 (although it might have already been permitted in some central office switches prior to June 1999), and local calls within one's own state and area code is also permitted as ten-digits since that date (if not earlier).The local telephone company for Texarkana TX/AR is no longer GT&E. When GTE was absorbed into Bell Atlantic's new Verizon in 2000, a good deal of Texas (including Texarkana TX and the Arkansas side as well) was spun-out of Verizon into a new telecom entity called "Valor". At that same time, all of GTE in Oklahoma and New Mexico was also spun out of Verizon into Valor as well.
The 903 (Texas) side of Texarkana has been overlaid with area code
430, and thus has mandatory ten-digit local dialing for all calls within 903 and 430. The overlay officially became effective on April 20, 2003. Mandatory ten-digit local dialing within 903, as well as for all local calls between TX/903 and AR/870 took effect on February 15, 2003. Permissive ten-digit dialing in preparation for the overlay took effect on July 20, 2002 (if not already permissive earlier in some central office switches). The Arkansas side (area code 870, which had split from 501 back in 1997) still has seven-digit local dialing within the AR/870 side. However, since the TX/903 side is overlaid with 430, and all local calls to and from the Texas side have to be dialed with all ten-digits, I assume that Valor allows permissive ten-digit local dialing for local calls within the AR/870 side, most likely since July 20, 2002 (if not already permissive earlier in some central office switches). I doubt that a 1+ is permitted before any ten-digit dialed local calls though, whether originated in Texas or Arkansas.There are NO more "protected" central office codes in any of these area codes -- neither in KS/913 (which had 785 split off from it back in 1997) nor MO/816 (which had 660 split off from it back in 1992 as well); nor in 870 or 903/430. Central office codes can be "duplicated" with any of these area codes, even near the boundary, since ten-digits is now required for all local calls crossing the state and area code boundaries.
I would *assume* that "protected" seven-digit local dialing is still available between the OK (918) and KS (620) sides. Many local telcos and state regulatory agencies still allow permissive seven-digit local dialing across area code (and state) boundaries in rural areas with smaller local calling areas, but even that isn't always the case though now-a-days!
[TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: I do not think OK/KS allows 7-D in the Coffeyville situation. Bartlesville, OK is in the 'regional' directory which includes South Coffeyville (but _not_ C'ville itself) and when I was there last week on a couple occassions I spent a few minutes as my disposition permitted, looking at the regional phone book for clues of one kind or another. It said rather plainly 'for calls to points in southeast Kansas including Caney (literally across the _street_ from a tiny place called Copan, OK), Coffeyville, Independence, etc dial 1-620 and the number.' I was hardly in a position to ssy either way for sure I was so sick and confused the days I was there. PAT]