I dial a number. It goes through just fine. I dial a different number with the same area code and get the “we’re sorry, you must dial 1”.
So,
1) why must I dial 1
2) why do they not simply dial 1 for me?!
In: Technology
The issue is that the phone number you dialed that requires 1 belongs to a different geographic location, so it has to be treated as long distance. The region you live in owns a certain range of phone numbers belonging to that area code. Another nearby region owns a different range of phone numbers under the same area code. They’re covered by a different switching system, so 1 has to be dialed first to tell your switchboard to route to the other one. Yes, it’s a stupid system that really should have been phased out, but there it is.
Until last year, I lived in a city with three different area codes. You have to dial the full ten digits, no matter what area code you’re trying to call, but you still don’t have to dial 1 to talk to someone whose number is based in the city. But, if I tried to call someone based in a different city, even though they also used the same set of area codes, I’d have to dial 1 for them. Which was very frustrating in my line of work, let me tell you.
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