Re: Pop song phone number goes up for auction [Telecom]

_VERY_FEW_ stations

For historical accuracy, 312 has been split _twice_. Both times the split introduced _one_ additional area-code.

The original split, 1989 retained 312 for the City of Chicago proper, and put all the suburban areas into 708. In 1996, 708 was split (3 ways), adding 630 and 847. In 1997, 312 was split for the second time (2 ways), retaining 312 for the city center, and adding 773 for the outlying 'ring', still within the city limits. In 2002, 224 was added as an overlay for 847. In 2007, 331 was added as an overlay for 630. And, in November of this year, 872 will be added as an overlay over _both_ 312 and 773. Area-code 464 is being held in reserve to overlay 708, when needed.

So if a Chicago TV station broadcasts a seven-digit phone number, how would the average viewer know which of those seven area codes to stick in front of it? Or are you saying that Chicago TV stations are among the "_VERY_FEW_" that care about such things?

Neal McLain

In the 1970s, I worked for a radio station in Santa Maria, CA, at the very north end of Santa Barbara county. You cross the Santa Maria river and you're in San Luis Obispo county. Santa Maria had GTE with a step switch. San Luis Obispo county had Pacific Telephone with a variety of switches, but all used 7 digit or area code plus 7 dgit dialing. The switch in Santa Maria, though, would absorb the first two of the seven digits, so most people just dialed five digits. Most radio ads gave the 5 digit phone number which half the listening area (but a much smaller portion of the population) could not dial. I always thought that was strange at the time.

Harold