2 ms·

It had never occurred to me that cell phone operators would use area codes. In my small home country, there is basically one 'area code' per cell phone operator

by chmars 13y ago

It had never occurred to me that cell phone operators would use area codes. In my small home country, there is basically one 'area code' per cell phone operator. First lesson learnt in 2014! :)

jimminy 13y ago
In my experience in the US, the carriers/operators have an area code or two, but it's in the local area code rather than regional area code. 10-digit example: XXX - YYY - zzzz The leaked data area codes are represented by the regional/XXX block and the carriers are in the local/YYY block in the 10-digit example.
techsupporter 13y ago
All phone numbers in the North American Numbering Plan (NANP) are allocated first as area codes by region and then by prefix for smaller locations. Some states, like Wyoming, have a single area code (307) while metro areas, like Houston, can have multiple area codes (713, 281, 832, 346) all covering the same physical place. This is a holdover of calling party pays so that a caller will know where a given phone number "lives." This distinction has become less visible with the advent of local number portability and nationwide mobile roaming. (The NANP covers Canada, the Northern Mariana Islands, the United States, and a large list of island nations in the North American area.)
HNLogInsSuckAss 13y ago
It's even better: The U.S. is so stupid that you have to enter the area code that you're calling, even when your phone is within the same area code.
arrrg 13y ago
That doesn’t just apply to small countries. I was also unaware that mobile phone numbers could have area codes and I’m from Germany (where each mobile operator has one three digit code – but even that is becoming meaningless with legally required number portability from operator to operator).
- mdpye 13y ago
  Less visible to people, though the way gsm works means that every call and text you receive entails a lookup to your number's original provider. Prefix allocations to mobile networks are static and they are required to return a new route if you've ported. Which means if a company leaves the market, someone has to take on their allocations or even non-current customers will lose connectivity. Or at least that was true last time a checked, 4 or so years ago. Kind of crazy.
deleted 13y ago
[deleted]
eli 13y ago
In many countries the caller pays for the cellular airtime. You have to know how much your call is going to cost before you dial it, so a new area code is needed. In the US, the cell phone user pays for the airtime even for calls they receive, so a new area code was never needed.

by chmars 13y ago

It had never occurred to me that cell phone operators would use area codes. In my small home country, there is basically one 'area code' per cell phone operator. First lesson learnt in 2014! :)

jimminy 13y ago

In my experience in the US, the carriers/operators have an area code or two, but it's in the local area code rather than regional area code. 10-digit example: XXX - YYY - zzzz The leaked data area codes are represented by the regional/XXX block and the carriers are in the local/YYY block in the 10-digit example.

techsupporter 13y ago

All phone numbers in the North American Numbering Plan (NANP) are allocated first as area codes by region and then by prefix for smaller locations. Some states, like Wyoming, have a single area code (307) while metro areas, like Houston, can have multiple area codes (713, 281, 832, 346) all covering the same physical place. This is a holdover of calling party pays so that a caller will know where a given phone number "lives." This distinction has become less visible with the advent of local number portability and nationwide mobile roaming. (The NANP covers Canada, the Northern Mariana Islands, the United States, and a large list of island nations in the North American area.)

HNLogInsSuckAss 13y ago

It's even better: The U.S. is so stupid that you have to enter the area code that you're calling, even when your phone is within the same area code.

arrrg 13y ago

That doesn’t just apply to small countries. I was also unaware that mobile phone numbers could have area codes and I’m from Germany (where each mobile operator has one three digit code – but even that is becoming meaningless with legally required number portability from operator to operator).

mdpye 13y ago
Less visible to people, though the way gsm works means that every call and text you receive entails a lookup to your number's original provider. Prefix allocations to mobile networks are static and they are required to return a new route if you've ported. Which means if a company leaves the market, someone has to take on their allocations or even non-current customers will lose connectivity. Or at least that was true last time a checked, 4 or so years ago. Kind of crazy.

deleted 13y ago

[deleted]

eli 13y ago

In many countries the caller pays for the cellular airtime. You have to know how much your call is going to cost before you dial it, so a new area code is needed. In the US, the cell phone user pays for the airtime even for calls they receive, so a new area code was never needed.