For example, signs for a cab company in a small town still had the
> old 5 digit number rather than the current 7 digit number. So, the
> sign/fence could've been installed well after the conversion.
Many small towns required only four- or five-digit dialing locally long after the "conversion" took place. By "long," I mean 10 or 15 years or more.
And in many towns with only one prefix, even if dialing it was mandatory, it was the custom to give only the digits required.
Wes Leatherock snipped-for-privacy@aol.com snipped-for-privacy@yahoo.com
[TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: That is precisely how things are done here in Independence. Our phone numbers are given as four digits, with the 620-331 portion assumed. Bur everyone knows to dial at least seven digits locally or ten/eleven for long distance. Those few instances of 620-330 or 620-332 numbers are usually given out in full, but they are quite rare. PAT]