Although the toll free number can come from anywhere in the United States and even Canada.
They have a distinct 3 digit number sequence where the typical area code is. Toll free phone numbers are phone numbers that are free to connect from landlines. An example is that of Salt Lake City which was given 801 area code.
Areas with less population got higher digits. Likewise, Los Angeles got 213 and Chicago 312.
New York City being a populated city got 212 as an area code. So, the idea behind this concept was that smaller digits took less time to dial which made dialing easier. Lower digits meant lower number of clicks. To dial a number you had to put your finger on the hole of the digit and dial it clockwise till the end. When state area codes were assigned, the populated areas got lower digits, while those with less population received higher digits. Who created the three-digit area codes?ĪT&T and Bell Laboratories started working on area codes in the 1940’s and it came into effect in 1947 as the North American Numbering Plan (NANP) in the United States and Canada. The area code system introduced in larger cities in the 1940’s was fully implemented everywhere by the mid 60’s.
The idea was to facilitate direct dialing of long distance phone calls. New Jersey was the first one to get an area code which was 201. The North American area code system was formulated in 1947, which divided North America into 86 numbering plan areas. Frequently Asked Questions About Area Codes When were area codes first used? An overlay area code is just an additional area code that is given for a certain area that follows the same county and or city boundaries. Oftentimes when areas have exhausted all the phone number combinations within that area code they will add an overlay. New Yorkers were disappointed to find out that in 2010, AT&T announced that the New York area code was entirely exhausted. The area code, 212, is considered a prestigious number. New York used to have only one area, which was 212, until 1984. Today, California has well over 30 area codes. Over the years, area codes expanded and became more complex. Eventually they had no choice but to adopt the new numbering system. People didn’t embrace the change quickly because they were used to the old way of doing things. The all number system was created to simplify things. Automatic dialing was the answer to stop the dependency on operators. A system that didn’t require people was needed. Since phone networking was growing fast, it wasn’t possible to hire a lot of staff fast. Things evolved gradually and in 1955, a list of exchange names was given that had standardized abbreviations consisting of a few letters and numbers. Leslie Denning to Frank Osborn, the mayor of Alameda, California. On November 10, 1951, the first long distance, direct call was made by Englewood Mayor M. Area codes were given as routing codes to operators in 1947. The executives at the Bell System introduced a new way of dialing the phone that was more efficient. The system changed in the mid-20th century when the United States telephone network grew. Consequently, emphasis was on minimizing the risks and coming up with a new and more sophisticated system. With spoken phone directions there was always the risk of misunderstanding the number. They were named after the particular phone exchange of an area. At the time, phone numbers were made up of numbers and letters, more like an alphanumeric address.
Mostly women worked as operators and directed calls to the desired destinations. In the beginning the phone system was dependent on human operators.