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The North American Numbering Plan (NANP) divides the territories of its members into geographic numbering plan areas (NPAs). Each NPA is identified by one or more numbering plan area codes (NPA codes, or area codes), consisting of three digits that are prefixed to each local telephone number having seven digits.
This was accomplished by adding the digit "9" to the beginning of any phone number that started with a "9" (government and semi-government connections), and adding the digit "3" to any phone numbers that did not start with the number "9". [1] It is common to write phone numbers as (0xx) yyyyyyy, where xx is the area code.
Canada and the United States have experienced rapid growth in the number of area codes, particularly between 1990 and 2005. The widespread adoption of fax, modem, and mobile phone communication, as well as the deregulation of local telecommunication services in the United States during the mid-1990s, increased the demand for telephone numbers.
Telephone numbers listed in 1920 in New York City having three-letter exchange prefixes. In the United States, the most-populous cities, such as New York City, Philadelphia, Boston, and Chicago, initially implemented dial service with telephone numbers consisting of three letters and four digits (3L-4N) according to a system developed by W. G. Blauvelt of AT&T in 1917. [1]
Worldwide distribution of country calling codes. Regions are coloured by first digit. Telephone country codes, but also sometimes referred to as "country dial-in codes", or historically "international subscriber dialing" (ISD) codes in the U.K., are telephone number dialing prefixes for reaching subscribers in foreign countries or areas via international telecommunication networks.
N11-numbers provide access to special services. For example, This US road sign reminds drivers and passengers about 5-1-1 service. 211: Community services and information; 311: Municipal government services, non-emergency number; 411: Directory assistance; 511: Traffic information or police non-emergency services
In December 1930, New York City became the first city in the United States to adopt the two-letter and five-number format (2L-5N), which became the standard after World War II, when the Bell System administration designed the North American Numbering Plan to prepare the United States and Canada for Direct Distance Dialing (DDD), and began to ...
In several European countries, a different strategy prevailed, known as the open numbering plan, which features a variance in the length of the area code, the local number, or both. [3] United States telephone numbers often included letter prefixes and telephone exchange names, which were more easily memorable for users than long digit sequences.