OWH wrote:The change means next-door neighbors could have different area codes. It also means everbody will have to dial 10 digits to make a call, even when calling somebody in the same area code.
Rather than dividing 402 into two areas, with one remaining 402 and the other becoming 531, the PSC opted for what it called an overlay plan.
"The current forecast is that available numbers in 402 will be exhausted in the second quarter of 2011. The date could be pushed back again, as it has been for 10 years."
As old people without cell phones pass on and more and more people drop their landlines, I don't see them actually adding another area code for a long time anyway. Even if they do, big deal. What is pushing an extra 4 numbers?
Parts of Chicago have that. Where we're from is in the 847 area code and they got the 224 overlay a few years ago. At first it was annoying but you get used to it. And given that my home county is just smaller in population than the Omaha metro, it makes sense.
S33 wrote:"The current forecast is that available numbers in 402 will be exhausted in the second quarter of 2011. The date could be pushed back again, as it has been for 10 years."
As old people without cell phones pass on and more and more people drop their landlines, I don't see them actually adding another area code for a long time anyway. Even if they do, big deal. What is pushing an extra 4 numbers?
Well you also will have to remember which area code the person you are calling has, the whole idea is monumentally stupid.
Would it really be that hard to give the Lincoln/Omaha metro areas 402 and give everyone else the new one?
Life is the sh*t that happens while we wait for moments that never come.
S33 wrote:"The current forecast is that available numbers in 402 will be exhausted in the second quarter of 2011. The date could be pushed back again, as it has been for 10 years."
As old people without cell phones pass on and more and more people drop their landlines, I don't see them actually adding another area code for a long time anyway. Even if they do, big deal. What is pushing an extra 4 numbers?
Well you also will have to remember which area code the person you are calling has, the whole idea is monumentally stupid.
Would it really be that hard to give the Lincoln/Omaha metro areas 402 and give everyone else the new one?
Yes, it would be very hard. All phone books would be obsolete. All web information would need updated. All business marketing collateral including outdoor billboards and any other advertisements would need to be repurchased. Everyone's out of town business and personal contacts would have to be notified and updated. Yes, it would be a colossal pain in the |expletive|.
With the overlay method, numbers would simply be updated in the same fashion they are today. Either way it's an inconvenience, but the overlay makes more sense.
Dividing the territory, which is roughly the eastern one-third of the state, would be expensive and potentially confusing for people and businesses with 402 numbers that would change to 531, the PSC said.
Dividing the territory would be potentially confusing??? What about having no rime or reason to the AREA of the area code? That's not confusing???
"The right to have access to every building in the city by private motorcar in an age when everyone possesses such a vehicle is actually the right to destroy the city."
Lewis Mumford, The Highway and the City, 1963
My sister in Houston has 3 lines with all different area codes (work, cell, home).
One idea: with cell phones getting popular in the 90s and eating up a bunch of numbers, why didn't they start a new area code for those? 402 could have been for landlines and a new area code for cell phones within the 402 area. Obviously too late now, but of the two choices I'd rather dial 10 numbers than the mess of splitting up 402.
UNOstudent wrote:My sister in Houston has 3 lines with all different area codes (work, cell, home).
One idea: with cell phones getting popular in the 90s and eating up a bunch of numbers, why didn't they start a new area code for those? 402 could have been for landlines and a new area code for cell phones within the 402 area. Obviously too late now, but of the two choices I'd rather dial 10 numbers than the mess of splitting up 402.
Uh, because you would still have to memorize multiple numbers regardless.
I started writing a reply to this, but then remembered I am now in the 712 area code..
Regardless, my cell phone has a 515 area code so whenever I'm calling someone that isn't already in my contacts list, I'm dialing 10 digits anyway. You get used to it. In fact, as its been mentioned, New York and Chicago both have area code overlays. That gives us something in common with these world class megalopolises. Anything to make us feel more urban, eh? eh?
I believe that part of the number depletion comes from western Iowans who go into Omaha to buy cell phones. Even though they live in Iowa, they are issued a 402 area code.
I must be one of the few that has absolutely no problem with this. Save the number in your cell, piece of cake. Its not like home lines will exist in 10-20 years anyway.
Maybe its just because I am used to it. When I am at school, I am used to asking for people's cell number and getting 10 digits as well as giving people 10 digits. Heck sometimes when I am home I forget that it is completely unnecessary to give people the area code, they always look at me with this "well no $hit Sherlock look." Oh well, guess in a few years I won't have that problem anymore.
EDIT (well maybe more of an extension).
Tito, I like the way you put it. Â I immediately thought to myself, wow, we have outgrown one single area code, sweet. Â I thought it makes us kind of cool actually. Â
S33 wrote:"The current forecast is that available numbers in 402 will be exhausted in the second quarter of 2011. The date could be pushed back again, as it has been for 10 years."
As old people without cell phones pass on and more and more people drop their landlines, I don't see them actually adding another area code for a long time anyway. Even if they do, big deal. What is pushing an extra 4 numbers?
Well you also will have to remember which area code the person you are calling has, the whole idea is monumentally stupid.
Would it really be that hard to give the Lincoln/Omaha metro areas 402 and give everyone else the new one?
Yes, it would be very hard. All phone books would be obsolete. All web information would need updated. All business marketing collateral including outdoor billboards and any other advertisements would need to be repurchased. Everyone's out of town business and personal contacts would have to be notified and updated. Yes, it would be a colossal pain in the |expletive|.
With the overlay method, numbers would simply be updated in the same fashion they are today. Either way it's an inconvenience, but the overlay makes more sense.
Those are all good points, kinda makes pushing the 4 extra buttons not seem quite so bad. Although I was envisioning as numbers are retired outside of the metro, them being re-issued only in the metro area, and all new numbers outside getting the new area code. Of course, the million dollar question would be will the turnover keep pace with the demand for 402 numbers.
And in reality, the overlay would likely have little effect on me since 90% of my calls are made from my contact list on my phone, I hardly ever actually "dial" a number.
Life is the sh*t that happens while we wait for moments that never come.
Like others I dont find this to be a big deal. Â However, I admit amusement that while pretty much every other state has dealt with shrinking one area code and the earth still managed to rotate on its axis, let's not by god mess with greater Nebraska and shrink the 402 area code to be just Omaha and Lincoln or heaven forbid just Omaha while leaving the 308 area code to outstate. Â
I would imagine that had the Internet existed years back when local dialing went from 4 digit to 7 the same argument would have been had, and probably was just not as evident. Â Heck, I remember the days in rural areas when there used to be party lines and you had to answer only on your ring sequence. Â The ultimate social network!
For the record NEBUGEATER does not equal BUGEATER !!!!!!!
S33 wrote:"The current forecast is that available numbers in 402 will be exhausted in the second quarter of 2011. The date could be pushed back again, as it has been for 10 years."
As old people without cell phones pass on and more and more people drop their landlines, I don't see them actually adding another area code for a long time anyway. Even if they do, big deal. What is pushing an extra 4 numbers?
Well you also will have to remember which area code the person you are calling has, the whole idea is monumentally stupid.
Would it really be that hard to give the Lincoln/Omaha metro areas 402 and give everyone else the new one?
Yes, it would be very hard. All phone books would be obsolete. All web information would need updated. All business marketing collateral including outdoor billboards and any other advertisements would need to be repurchased. Everyone's out of town business and personal contacts would have to be notified and updated. Yes, it would be a colossal pain in the |expletive|.
With the overlay method, numbers would simply be updated in the same fashion they are today. Either way it's an inconvenience, but the overlay makes more sense.
Those are all good points, kinda makes pushing the 4 extra buttons not seem quite so bad. Although I was envisioning as numbers are retired outside of the metro, them being re-issued only in the metro area, and all new numbers outside getting the new area code. Of course, the million dollar question would be will the turnover keep pace with the demand for 402 numbers.
And in reality, the overlay would likely have little effect on me since 90% of my calls are made from my contact list on my phone, I hardly ever actually "dial" a number.
What I read, the Lincoln / Omaha area would not be in the same area code if the Overlay was not used. Â One of the two metro's and surrounding area would have to go through a change.
Just to play devils advocate why not do it the other was around? Â The roll in the metro would supply the needed out-state numbers I am sure. My guess is that there will just be a pool that is pulled from and location will not matter.
For the record NEBUGEATER does not equal BUGEATER !!!!!!!
TitosBuritoBarn wrote:I believe that part of the number depletion comes from western Iowans who go into Omaha to buy cell phones. Even though they live in Iowa, they are issued a 402 area code.
Heck, you don't even have to go to Omaha for a cell phone to end up with a 402 area code. Â When I got my cell phone several years ago (in Counci Bluffs), I HAD to have a 402 area code, as they didn't have 712 area code numbers for cell phones sold in the area. Â I even complained all the way up the chain, but to no avail - Pott. Co. was stuck with 402. Â Now I think you have the option to get a 712 area code for new cell phones sold in CB, but it wasn't that way for a long time.
"Destiny is not a matter of chance, it is a matter of choice; it is not a thing to be waited for, it is a thing to be achieved."
I agree with the "who cares" camp. In GI, we're in the 308 area code, yet the southern quarter of Hall County is in the 402 as it divides roughly at the Platte River, but not always. It's normal to tell people which area code you're in when giving out your number. (However, it is pretty cool that you can call any exchange in any town in Hall County, regardless of area code and it's a free local call)
I would say that the overlay is the opposite of "retarded", as it'll only inconvenience the people who tend to be easily annoyed :x and not cost any business a dime in letting everyone in the world know that their number has changed.
What is really weird is how the original area code boundaries came to be in the first place... not just in Nebraska, but everywhere. How the 402 extends to the panhandle in the north is baffling. :shock:
Big E wrote:One thing I have NEVER understood is why Lincoln and Omaha are in the same area code but it is a long-distance call...
Don't get me started! I'm seriously thinking about cancelling the home phone and using only the cell because of things like this. I'm just concerned about a cell outage during an emergency that I want to keep the home phone for now. That plus the fact that the sound is quite a bit clearer.
Where I live we can call way the heck over into rural Iowa toll free but not to Ashland, which is not that far away. I use the cell for that. I can call Louisville toll free but I'm long distance when they call me back! Go figure on that one!
They made this real big deal a couple years back when they gave us toll-free to Council Bluffs (which I do use and appreciate) and umpteen other small towns, some which I had never heard of. However, they can't seem to give toll free to more nearby places like Ashland and Memphis, which people where I live do phone regularly.
I'm also very surprised that they included Council Bluffs without requiring 10 digits.
With the cell, at least if you have a liberal calling plan, you don't have to worry about which places are so-called local (Missouri Valley, Iowa, local?) or long distance (Ashland).
Where I live we can call way the heck over into rural Iowa toll free but not to Ashland, which is not that far away. I use the cell for that. I can call Louisville toll free but I'm long distance when they call me back! Go figure on that one!
They made this real big deal a couple years back when they gave us toll-free to Council Bluffs (which I do use and appreciate) and umpteen other small towns, some which I had never heard of. However, they can't seem to give toll free to more nearby places like Ashland and Memphis, which people where I live do phone regularly.
sometimes it depends on what phone companies are involved. Qwest will make some neighboring towns a local call, but the other phone company might not reciprocate.
DTO Luv wrote:This plan sounds absolutely retarded. What's the point in having area codes if it's not by area?
I think the term "Area Code" is just outdated. Â I think of it as more of another prefix. Â Back when I was a kid, you could tell what part of town someone lived in because of the prefix. Â 551 was for my friends east of 72nd, 391 and 397 was my neighborhood west of 72nd.
With people moving from city to city keeping their cell phone numbers, it just is not an "area" code anymore.
DTO Luv wrote:This plan sounds absolutely retarded. What's the point in having area codes if it's not by area?
I think the term "Area Code" is just outdated. I think of it as more of another prefix. Back when I was a kid, you could tell what part of town someone lived in because of the prefix. 551 was for my friends east of 72nd, 391 and 397 was my neighborhood west of 72nd.
With people moving from city to city keeping their cell phone numbers, it just is not an "area" code anymore.
I grew up by 108th & Q. Â We were all 331, 339 or 592.
DTO Luv wrote:This plan sounds absolutely retarded. What's the point in having area codes if it's not by area?
I think the term "Area Code" is just outdated. I think of it as more of another prefix. Back when I was a kid, you could tell what part of town someone lived in because of the prefix. 551 was for my friends east of 72nd, 391 and 397 was my neighborhood west of 72nd.
With people moving from city to city keeping their cell phone numbers, it just is not an "area" code anymore.
I grew up by 108th & Q. We were all 331, 339 or 592.
Got a letter from Qwest today, apparently 10 digit dialing will be mandatory Feb 26 of next year, but a 'permissive dialing period' where they want us to start using it goes into effect on June 26 of this year. Whatever that means. Â :roll:
Life is the sh*t that happens while we wait for moments that never come.
Bugeater wrote:Got a letter from Qwest today, apparently 10 digit dialing will be mandatory Feb 26 of next year, but a 'permissive dialing period' where they want us to start using it goes into effect on June 26 of this year. Whatever that means. :roll:
I'm not a big fan of this method either. Â As a person in the largest area in the state I don't want to be inconvenienced with another area code! Â Des Moines and most of Iowa managed to split when 515 was filling up and they left the DSM area 515 and made everyone else deal with the change. Â Damn Nebraska. Â
NANCY HICKS: Lincoln Journal Star wrote:Wally Tubbs remembers his first telephone number: Hemlock 5-4097. Jim McKee remembers his grandparents’ number: Ingersoll 2474.
The Nebraska Public Service Commission late Thursday afternoon announced it has received notification that only 10 prefixes remain in the 402 area code.
That's the trigger for issuing the new 531 code.
But don't expect to be dialing a 531 in the next few weeks.
The 10 prefixes remaining for the 402 code have about 100,000 numbers.
"When will we see 531 numbers? Your guess is as good as mine," said Gene Hand, director of the Telecommunications Department for the Nebraska Public Service Commission. "But I would not be surprised to see some 531 numbers yet this year."
The first Nebraskans to get telephone numbers starting with the state's new area code -- 531 -- likely will be businesses in Atkinson and Oakland.
The state has sent the first 531 telephone numbers to CenturyLink, and the company says it plans to use them in the two small towns. Atkinson is in Holt County in north-central Nebraska and Oakland is in Burt County in eastern Nebraska.
“We have crossed the divide,” Gene Hand, telecommunications director for the Nebraska Public Service Commission, said of using the 531 area code........................
For the record NEBUGEATER does not equal BUGEATER !!!!!!!
I'm seriously thinking about cancelling the home phone and using only the cell because of things like this. I'm just concerned about a cell outage during an emergency that I want to keep the home phone for now. That plus the fact that the sound is quite a bit clearer.
