Shortcut dialing of local area code?

[Stephen Tashiro]

Since dialing the local area code will soon be mandatory, are there LAN phone sets (not cell phones) than have a shortcut way of doing that?

[Jim Becker]

Since dialing the local area code will soon be mandatory, are there LAN phone sets (not cell phones) than have a shortcut way of doing that?

Not really, other than storing whole numbers. 10 digit dialing has been standard almost everywhere in the US for "eons" now. You must be in one of the very few areas left that didn't require it already. I'm guessing that the equipment that services your area is being upgraded to modern IP based switching (even if you are using a landline) so local land line operation will be pretty much identical to using your cell phone going forward.

[Scott Winners]

I had to dial a 1 + the area code to send a fax down to Anchorage yesterday. My impression is Alaska is getting too crowded and I will need to find somewhere with less people in it to move to.

[Jim Becker]

I had to dial a 1 + the area code to send a fax down to Anchorage yesterday. My impression is Alaska is getting too crowded and I will need to find somewhere with less people in it to move to.

LOL....

Seriously, even less populated areas that only need on area code will at some point be 10 digit dialing simply because that's what the communication system is becoming normalized on. You'll likely not need to dial the Country Code (the 1) at some point on any land lines left at some point just as it's not required on cell phones already. The country code in the overall structure will not be needed unless one is calling a different country.

[Lee DeRaud]

You'll likely not need to dial the Country Code (the 1) at some point on any land lines left at some point just as it's not required on cell phones already.

My landline cordless Panasonic will handle 9-digit ("1-less") numbers fine, but I'm not sure if that's a feature of the phone (as in, it's inserting it automatically) or the Spectrum VOIP it runs through.

(Not sure if VOIP qualifies as "landline", but hey, there's wire running under the front yard and the street, so I'm calling it that. )

[Nathan Johnson]

It is truly a massive inconvenience to dial two extra digits, even on a non-rotary phone.
Something must be done!

[Curt Harms]

My landline cordless Panasonic will handle 9-digit ("1-less") numbers fine, but I'm not sure if that's a feature of the phone (as in, it's inserting it automatically) or the Spectrum VOIP it runs through.

(Not sure if VOIP qualifies as "landline", but hey, there's wire running under the front yard and the street, so I'm calling it that. )

If it's got a phone line running to the base, it's a land line as far as I'm concerned. Perhaps some peoples' definition of a land line is sometimes referred to as POTS(Plain Old Telephone System) If your landline phone works with no power, it's probably POTS. The one possible advantage I see of POTS over IP based phone setups is 911 response. First because it works with no power and second the 911 system seems geared to match addresses to phone numbers using POTS. We had Vonage for a while and as I recall had to register the phone number to the address for 911 services. We never had to find out if that worked and was reliable thank goodness. How does someone with only a cell phone work 911? SWMBO has significant medical issues so reliable 911 service is at the top of our list.

[Jim Becker]

There was a time when "landline" really was pretty much focused on telephone service to the premise from the local operator ("Bell" company or equivalent) via copper phone lines. It wasn't something "portable". That's blurred a little because over the past x number of years, folks have had the opportunity to use alternative carriers, primarily via IP, to be their "phone company" for phones in their home instead of the old copper service. While IP service is technically portable with an app or IP device, many folks who use these services point them at a specific device in their home that in turn provides what appears to be traditional in-home phone service. Even the local carriers have moved in the IP direction. Verizon, for example, has been abandoning copper lines for some time now in many of their local service areas in favor of fiber optic service to the home, even if it's just for the decreasing number of people subscribing to phone service. Those lines use IP behind the scenes, at least at the central office/wiring center, even if the subscriber insists on "POTS" type regulated service rather than their more feature rich digital voice product. Those are still "land lines" from a functional standpoint.

Where this ties back to things being discussed in this thread is that IP services and wireless phones have pretty much moved the whole phone calls thing to a ten digit world in the larger part of the US and that's going to continue until it's ubiquitous. Overlay area codes and short numbers like the three digit dial code mentioned in the thread that conflict with an existing area code make this a requirement. And folks will get used to it.

[Brian Elfert]

Many of the "landline" services that aren't POTS have a battery so the device works during a power outage. (The major cable TV service in my area has a lot of their stuff backed up with small natural gas generators to work during a power outage.) The problem with the batteries in those devices is they need to be replaced every few years, but the carriers rarely replace them unless a customer asks.

Your cell phone is supposed to send your GPS location to the 911 center when you call 911. Failing that the 911 center is supposed to be able to get your approximate location from your cell carrier, but that location could be a large general area. This doesn't work with WI-FI calling. For WI-FI calling your cell carrier will require you to enter an address for 911 purposes. This will work fine at home, but what about when you connect to a WI-FI network away from home?

[Stephen Tashiro]

Not really, other than storing whole numbers. 10 digit dialing has been standard almost everywhere in the US for "eons" now. You must be in one of the very few areas left that didn't require it already.

Yes, I've not had to dial the local area code to make local calls. Do the advanced areas of the country dial 1 before dialing the area code? Or is that unnecessary?

They should make a phone where you can dial the local area code with one keypress.

[Jim Becker]

Yes, I've not had to dial the local area code to make local calls. Do the advanced areas of the country dial 1 before dialing the area code? Or is that unnecessary?

They should make a phone where you can dial the local area code with one keypress.

Whether you need to dial a one or not for calling another area code depends upon the equipment your phone provider is using. More and more do not require the one to be dialed. Cell phones do not. I don't beleive it was necessary any more on land lines here, but since I haven't had one for a number of years now, I can't test that.

BTW, in my area, there are three active "area codes" in the county and adjacent and the same the next county over. The 215 area code that originally was pegged to almost the entire SE PA area was first split into 215 and 610 and then additional "overlay" area codes were added, like the 267 that three of our four cell phones use. It's possible to have three different area codes in a single household here! (some areas have more than three) This was made necessary because of the "number of numbers" required in this age of cell phones in every hand and the proliferation of DID (direct inward dialing) in businesses where every desk phone has its own "public" number. Even with waning "landline" subscribers in residences and even small businesses, the number of numbers required still is expanding at a respectable rate. Each "area code" can only have so many numbers so when they are running out, another area code is established in the same area.

[Alan Rutherford]

We went to area-code-required earlier this year. One area code had served the whole area but a new one was added because they were running out of numbers. Just to make it more confusing and less convenient, when it's a local call in our local area code on a landline the 1 is not required although the area code is. If you include the 1 you get a recorded error message. There are locations in the same area code that are long distance and the 1 and area code are both required, as they were before. I don't know whether you need the 1 or not with local calls to the new area code. Haven't had to do that yet.

[Kev Williams]

I haven't dialed a 1 to start calling anyone in years, just the area code & number--

[Mike Henderson]

I haven't dialed a 1 to start calling anyone in years, just the area code & number--

Many phone plans now offer free long distance so dialing across the country is the same as dialing next door. I have a land line - my wife wants it - but I never use it so I don't know if the 1 prefix is required. It certainly isn't on cell phones.

Mike

[Harriet Beauvais]

I'm in the extreme suburbs of Philadelphia and honestly, I cannot remember how long we've been dialing ten digits, I'm willing to say late 90s, though.

Dialing anything more than ten is usually outside of the country, isn't it?