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Recently I've noticed the 555 prefix being used less, in favor of prefixes starting with 1, which are also invalid in the real world.

by kid64 1y ago

lwhi 1y ago
I thought 1 is the country prefix for the USA?
- averageRoyalty 1y ago
  It is, although I'd imagine many Americans aren't aware of this.
- phantom784 1y ago
  Technically it's the country code for the North American Numbering Plan, which is used by several other countries as well as the US. But in this context it'd be the first digit of the area code, with no country code being used because the call is within the US. There are no area codes in the the North American Numbering Plan that start with a 1.
  - extraduder_ire 1y ago
    Have none starting with 1 been assigned, or is there some technical reason there are none?
    - phantom784 1y ago
      Per Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_North_American_Numbering_Plan_area_codes https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_North_American_Numberi... "The syntax rules for area codes do not permit the digits 0 and 1 in the leading position." My guess would be it's to avoid ambiguity with the fact that 1 is also the country code. If I recall correctly, historically, dialing the 1 was necessary for any long distance call (even if not international).
      - ghaff 1y ago
        >If I recall correctly, historically, dialing the 1 was necessary for any long distance call (even if not international). You recall correctly. I haven't had a landline for a number of years now but I think it was still required latterly when I still had one. Don't think it was ever needed on cell (or maybe even valid) when I first got one at some point in the 1990s.
      - mosburger 1y ago
        It used to be the case that the middle digit of an area code had to be a 0 or a 1. All the O.G. "cool" area codes like 212 are in this format, and the less desirable new area codes like 646 are not (yes, this is an accidental Seinfeld reference).
- pards 1y ago
  +1 is also the prefix for Canada
dhosek 1y ago
I think that’s at least in part because some 555 prefix numbers have been assigned for non-directory information uses (I have a vague notion of seeing this for some toll-free numbers).
- kid64 11mo ago
  Historically they connected to a periodic time-of-day announcement. So assigned in a way that didn't preclude TV/movie use.

Recently I've noticed the 555 prefix being used less, in favor of prefixes starting with 1, which are also invalid in the real world.

by kid64 1y ago

Recently I've noticed the 555 prefix being used less, in favor of prefixes starting with 1, which are also invalid in the real world.

lwhi 1y ago

I thought 1 is the country prefix for the USA?

averageRoyalty 1y ago
It is, although I'd imagine many Americans aren't aware of this.
phantom784 1y ago
Technically it's the country code for the North American Numbering Plan, which is used by several other countries as well as the US. But in this context it'd be the first digit of the area code, with no country code being used because the call is within the US. There are no area codes in the the North American Numbering Plan that start with a 1.
- extraduder_ire 1y ago
  Have none starting with 1 been assigned, or is there some technical reason there are none?
  - phantom784 1y ago
    Per Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_North_American_Numbering_Plan_area_codes https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_North_American_Numberi... "The syntax rules for area codes do not permit the digits 0 and 1 in the leading position." My guess would be it's to avoid ambiguity with the fact that 1 is also the country code. If I recall correctly, historically, dialing the 1 was necessary for any long distance call (even if not international).
    - ghaff 1y ago
      >If I recall correctly, historically, dialing the 1 was necessary for any long distance call (even if not international). You recall correctly. I haven't had a landline for a number of years now but I think it was still required latterly when I still had one. Don't think it was ever needed on cell (or maybe even valid) when I first got one at some point in the 1990s.
    - mosburger 1y ago
      It used to be the case that the middle digit of an area code had to be a 0 or a 1. All the O.G. "cool" area codes like 212 are in this format, and the less desirable new area codes like 646 are not (yes, this is an accidental Seinfeld reference).
pards 1y ago
+1 is also the prefix for Canada

dhosek 1y ago

I think that’s at least in part because some 555 prefix numbers have been assigned for non-directory information uses (I have a vague notion of seeing this for some toll-free numbers).

kid64 11mo ago
Historically they connected to a periodic time-of-day announcement. So assigned in a way that didn't preclude TV/movie use.