10
Jun

10-Digit Dialing Coming To Alberta

   Posted by: Mike   in Uncategorized

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I guess Alberta’s running out of phone numbers! Soon we will not only have to learn a new Alberta area code (587), but we will all have to remember to dial all 10 digits of local calls as well.

The 587 thing concerns me a bit… they aren’t making it specific to a region, but introducing it “across all of Alberta.” So does that mean that someone in Fort McMurray will have the same area code as someone in Lethbridge?  Doesn’t that kind of defeat the purpose of an AREA code?

The whole 10-digit dialing isn’t new to me fortunately… living in Ontario, they had 10-digit dialing in place long ago. It’s actually been kind of difficult to get out of the habit since moving back here!

This entry was posted on Tuesday, June 10th, 2008 at 9:49 am and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

2 comments so far

Joey Lindstrom
 1 

You lost me with this: “So does that mean that someone in Fort McMurray will have the same area code as someone in Lethbridge? Doesn’t that kind of defeat the purpose of an AREA code?”

Prior to 1998, all of Alberta was 403 - there was no 780 yet. Fort Mac and Lethbridge were in the same area code then - why does it seem so strange now? A number in 587 is in the “area” of “all of Alberta”. Area codes aren’t there for humans to use to determine which province/state (or portion thereof) a number is in, although they do also serve that purpose. They’re there for the telephone network to route calls, and are just one of three components in your overall telephone number (NPA or “area” code, then central office code, then line number). The only difference now is that they’re a bit more “visible” even on local calls. No big deal, and as you said, you do quickly get used to it.

Why did you bother trying to get OUT of the habit of ten-digit dialing? Ten-digit dialing has been available in Alberta, optionally, since 2000. Why break the habit? Why not just continue dialing 10?

June 10th, 2008 at 1:25 pm
Mike
 2 

Great points Joey, you’re absolutely correct. Not that it’s really going to bother me at all, I just do find it a little odd to have two area codes so definitively separated by geography (780 = North Alberta, 403 = South Alberta, at least insofar as population, not specific land area) and a third code spread out overlapping them both.

Of course, given the demographics of Alberta, it’s not as if there’s a much better logical alternative without causing a ton of problems to existing numbers. I suppose I just find it an amusing curiosity. I can still remember growing up in Edmonton when the entire province used 403, and you could tell what part of town someone was in by the three-digit prefix (or “central office code”) of their phone number!

Thanks for the info!

June 10th, 2008 at 2:00 pm

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