Why must we dial "1" before calling a long distance number? Why can't phone companies let us skip that part?

Question

They KNOW the number we're trying to dial, which is why the recording TELLS us to dial a 1. Why don't they just automatically dial it for us if it's such a big deal?

Stupid phone companies anyway.

*laughs* Lazy isn't the point. The point is WHY is a "1" such a necessary thing worthy of a recording telling us to hang and dial all over again?

Answer 1

You rite. I dint make sense. No matter how far you call its always 1, not 2. 6 or 9 always 1. It seams like if you needed it, there would be other numbers too, but there not. Maybe its for the future, when they get more numbers.

Answer 2

I doubt it's everywhere that way. Sometimes i don't dial one, but still dial the area code and get to the number I need without the 1 in the begining. I assume that in the near future, tellephones will appear on the moon and Mars when people will start migrating there, and the number in the beggining will represent the planet/moon you're on... lol.

But another real reason might be because America is such a big country. think about it. Without the 1, you get a 10-diget number. In the United States there are probably over 300 million people living. So if there's like a ratio of 30 people per one phone number, there are over 10 million phone numbers that are being used. Besides, you must remember that there are also those phone numbers that are somehow left forgotten... and population grows... and eventually maybe half a century from now, certain phones will be dialed starting a 2, not a one. That was there will be a bigger amount of phone numbers available in the United States.

It's a big country, so I'm guessing that's why the phone numbers are also big. (I used to live in Israel and there I only had to dial a 7-digit number to call someone in the city and a 9-digit number to call someone elsewhere in Israel.)

Hope my answer satisfied ya.

Answer 3

No, the telephone company doesn't KNOW the number you're trying to call. It does know that it's not within your local exchange. Because of duplication of numbers, the 1- tells the phone company that the next three digits are an area code, not a local exchange. Also, the last I knew, you could still dial "0" instead of "1" to get an operator involved with your call. I realize such calls as collect and all that are pretty obsolete, but that might be part of your answer.

Answer 4

Originally, all area codes had to comply with certain rules; primarily, the first digit of an area code must begin with the digits 2 through 9 and the second digit must be either a "0" or "1". This set the stage for self-dialed long-distance. If you dialed "0" you were requesting an operator-assisted call; either "Person-to-Person" or international. But since the proliferation of pagers and cellular and a growing population of consumers wanting telephones, we were running out of numbers. So then we had to change the rules. So now we see area codes such as 251 and 678, which clearly don't follow the old rules.

Let's say you are calling from [phone] and you want to call: 1-[phone] or 1-[phone] (UNDER THE OLD RULES)
Since you dialed "1" then you were calling long-distance. Since the second digit of the area code was to be either a "0" or "1", the target of your call would be outside of your local area code.

(UNDER NEWER RULES OF AREA CODES)
Let's say you are calling from [phone] and you want to call: [phone]. If you didn't dial "1" first, how else would the telco know that you weren't trying to call 678-5553 within your 251 area code? Remember, under the old rules, 678 could not be an area code, so the call MUST be local; but today, it could also be long-distance.

Not all 10-digit calls are long distance. Dialing the digit "1" before the area code is often only required for actual long distance calls.

Answer 5

Virtually all telcos still allow you to call a number within the same Example, area code using only seven digits.

Originally, all area codes had to comply with certain rules; primarily, the first digit of an area code must begin with the digits 2 through 9 and the second digit must be either a "0" or "1". This set the stage for self-dialed long-distance. If you dialed "0" you were requesting an operator-assisted call; either "Person-to-Person" or international. But since the proliferation of pagers and cellular and a growing population of consumers wanting telephones, we were running out of numbers. So then we had to change the rules. So now we see area codes such as 251 and 678, which clearly don't follow the old rules.

Let's say you are calling from [phone] and you want to call: 1-[phone] or 1-[phone] (UNDER THE OLD RULES)
Since you dialed "1" then you were calling long-distance. Since the second digit of the area code was to be either a "0" or "1", the target of your call would be outside of your local area code.

Example2:
(UNDER NEWER RULES OF AREA CODES)
Let's say you are calling from [phone] and you want to call: [phone]. If you didn't dial "1" first, how else would the telco know that you weren't trying to call 678-5553 within your 251 area code? (Remember, under the old rules, 678 could not be an area code, so the call MUST be local; but today, it could also be long-distance.)

I hope that this answered your question.

(Not all 10-digit calls are long distance. Dialing the digit "1" before the area code is often only required for actual long distance calls.)

Answer 6

I'm amazed that a "Top Contributor" would have such incorrect information.

Canada is part of the North American Numbering Plan, which governs the North American Numbering Plan Areas, commonly referred to as "Area Codes."

No one in Canada has the same ten digit number as anyone in the United States.

A "1" is typically required so that the caller knows they are incurring long distance charges by placing the call.

1 *is* the Country Code for the United States, but that is not why you are required to dial 1 first in a toll call.

Answer 7

That is because many areas are forcing ten digital dialing (area code plus 7 digit number).

This is so they don't get angry customers who dialed ???-????-??? thinking it was a local call when it wasn't. The 1 forces YOU the customer to acknowledge this is a long distance call.

Answer 8

The 1 is for the local switch to go to a long distance one. Local calls don't go thru any other switch except one or two local ones. The 1 generates a tone that sets to a buffer to relay to a long distance switch. Hence the need for a 1 otherwise you would be billed for long distance all the time. Good thing it is there huh.

Answer 9

example:

the LD number is 1-123-456-7890

so if you start dialing without the one it will dial the local number 123-4567

the 1 "tells" the phone that it will be long distance, so it wont call the number of the first seven digits you type in

Answer 10

"1" is the code for calls in the USA rather than Europe, etc. Some cell phones do add that automatically..