Art says:

>     Welcome to the '90's ... why don't we just increase the number of
>digits in a phone number?????  8 or 9 digits and say a 4 digit area code
>would buy us more time...wouldn't it?

Well, I know this has been debated here before, but the bottom line is 
all those phone systems/PBX's out there that would have to be reprogrammed 
to accept the longer phone numbers.  We did this previously at another 
employer of mine at which we had a Northern Telecom SL1.  The old way 
of formatting area codes and exchanges was to allow area codes to have 
only a second digit of "0" or "1" and to *not* allow any exchanges 
with a second digit of "0" or "1".  The telco's or government or 
whomever decided that the old area code format was too limiting and 
decided to allow any digits for either exchanges or area codes.  This 
is why you have to dial an area code today when calling long distance 
in your own area code.  Our SL1 was programmed to handle the old way 
and we had to convert it to the new way because if it saw an exchange 
with a "0" or "1" as the second digit, it assumed it was an area code, 
and expected another seven digits after that.

As with the "C" thread, it's about money, but then it usually is, now 
isn't it?

Jim Phillips                            Manager of Information Systems
Voice: (330) 527-2124                   Therm-O-Link, Inc.
  Fax: (330) 527-2123                   PO Box 285; 10513 Freedom St.
Email: [log in to unmask]       Garrettsville, Ohio  44231