ON Telephone Numbers, Area Codes, Splits, Overlays, the FCC, the PUC, Politicians, and Justice --- On_Other_Stuff

This is presented as true to the best recollection and is offered for guidance with NO warranty expressed or implied.
Your mileage may vary.


Telephone Numbers, Area Codes, Splits, Overlays, the FCC, the PUC, Politicians, and Justice ---

My understanding is that ...

When a telephone company (regardless of the number of its customers) qualifies for an allotment of numbers then it gets them in groups of 1000 (reduced from a prior size of 10000) and might possibly only use a few of them. The California Public Utilities Commission has asked the FCC to reduce the size even further, but the FCC has refused.

Each group of numbers which gets allotted, reduces the availability for other companies and their customers. When the quantity of available groups is reduced to some percentage of the total for any area code, then some relief is required.

This relief can be manifest by either splitting an area code or by overlaying it; both of which have positive and negative aspects.

One of the negatives of implementing AreaCode overlays is that then all of the customers in both  the old and the new area codes are required to enter 1+AreaCode before all numbers which they call --- EVEN if the called number is in their OWN AreaCode.

HOWEVER, my understanding is that this requirement is not necessary because of any technical aspect of the underlying support mechanisms, rather it takes extra effort on the part of the supporting systems to enforce this requirement. Actually the requirement has been imposed for socio-political reasons of sharing the inconvenience among all of the residents of a geographic region.

This requirement is being fraudulently foisted on the public as being necessary because of the overlay, and the gullible public and the media which serve them just seem to be swallowing the concept as a natural process of the technology involved. Even the cute TV ads stating "When in doubt, dial it out" seem to be geared to "selling it" to the masses.
This gullibility needs to change. All of the impacted public should be "mad and hell and not going to take it any more". All of the media serving that public need to investigate the situation, expose the rip-off as a socially-UNjust fraud, and demand that all such requirements (past, current, and future) be removed everywhere in the name of saving the button-pushing inconvenience and the energy wasted because of such political meddling into the area of technology. 

Maybe my understanding of the situation is wrong, but my belief is that all of this is true and needs to be given a thorough review and exposure.

N.B.-
The media bureau which champions this cause should reap great reward with its public and awards from its peers.


On an allied subject: the requirement that land-line phone users must enter the leading "1", while cell phone users are free from this, should also be given a proper review.

ON Telephone Numbers, Area Codes, Splits, Overlays, the FCC, the PUC, Politicians, and Justice --- On_Other_Stuff

This is presented as true to the best recollection and is offered for guidance with NO warranty expressed or implied. Your mileage may vary.

This is presented as true to the best recollection and is offered for guidance with NO warranty expressed or implied.
Your mileage may vary.