TELECOM Digest OnLine - Sorted: Re: Young Cell Users Rack Up Debt, One Dime Message at a Time

Re: Young Cell Users Rack Up Debt, One Dime Message at a Time

Mark Crispin (MRC@CAC.Washington.EDU)
Sun, 16 Jan 2005 17:32:15 -0800

On Sun, 16 Jan 2005, Paul Coxwell wrote:

> I'm sure that everybody in the U.K. will know of people who when given
> an 07xx niumber will retort with something like "I'm not paying to
> call that! Give me a real number!"

That happens in North America too. I was getting something repaired
at a shop in Anchorage, AK, and I was going to give them my mobile
phone number. They knew I was from out of state, and said that they
weren't going to call long-distance to an out-of-state mobile phone.
I told them that no, this phone was a Glennallen, AK number. They
said that they weren't going to call long-distance to Glennallen
either!

For the benefit of people outside of North America, the idea of "local
calls" being free is deeply ingrained here, to the point that in much
of North America the "1" prefix (equivalent of "0" prefix in most
other countries) does not mean "other area" but instead "toll call".

Thus, a call within the same area code requires a 1 then area code if
it will be a toll call, and a call to another area code does not
require a 1 (thus the area code can't be used as an exchange.

-- Mark --

http://staff.washington.edu/mrc
Science does not emerge from voting, party politics, or public debate.
Si vis pacem, para bellum.

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