But what if I want to call my business partner in Concord? He is outside Hudsonâs local calling area. Let me try:
978-369-xxyy. Ten digits 3 + 3 + 4 = 10 And what do I hear?
To complete calls beyond your local calling area, you must dial one.
To make matters worse the message is so loud it hurts my ear.
Let me go through this again.
I dial ten digits: 978 â 369 â xxyy, A Concord number.
The computer tells me that, since I am dialing outside my local calling area I need to dial a â1.â
Since the computer knows I am dialing outside my local calling area, WHY DO I NEED TO DIAL the â1?â
Answer this question to my satisfaction and I will buy you a beer. However, in my humble opinion, there is no satisfactory answer. If the computer is smart enough to recognize an out-of-area call, then it is smart enough to route my call without the â1â prefix.
File this under “Dumb Mass.”
Mark
Is it different elsewhere? Can one call anywhere within an area code without dialing the 1?
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Though I am no expert, I suspect that this is an issue of old switching equipment, which the bygone days of 7 digit dialing, need the “1” to tell it that an area code is coming.