All he should have to do is call their provider and confirm that it
> is a local exchange.
What difference should it make if the number is "local"?
Some of my co-workers live across the street and walk to work. Some live in a different state and have a 90 minute commute. I think every workplace is like that.
So, in order to call people at home, in some cases they will have to use long distance.
Anyway, today corporate long distance is so cheap why is that even a problem?
Years ago when toll rates were expensive, PBX extensions had a three-tier option: 1) interal PBX calls only (most common, esp on phones anyone could use), 2) outside local calls only (low level supervisors, secretaries), 3) all calls (big bosses).
Frankly, I don't see what's changed. If a manager needs to call you, he probably has long distance access already. It's pretty hard to conduct business today without long distance.
The other issue raised here is keeping switching equipment up-to-date with new exchanges. This has been an ongoing problem for years since the explosion of area codes and new exchanges. I believe official bulletins are issued describing new exchanges and where they're located. (In the old days the Bell System handled this automatically internally). Any organization with a PBX that has internal tables must subscribe or contract with someone who subscribes to these bulletins and keep the internal tables updated. What happens if a valued customer gets a new phone number and you can't reach them?