Posted by NC on 04/13/06 19:02

Richard Levasseur wrote:
>
> Are you sure about that? Is 1 not the US/CA country code?

Not exactly. When you call from outside North America, 1 is indeed the
U.S. country code. When you call from the U.S. and the first number
you dial is 1, it's a signal for the telephone exchange to switch from
local to long-distance dialing. The exchange assumes that the 10
digits after the 1 are a three-digit area code followed by a
seven-digit phone number. The single system of area codes covers the
U.S., Canada, Mexico, and several island nations in the Caribbean.
Essentially, if you are calling from, say, New York, dialing
1xxxyyyzzzz can get you to Chicago, Montreal, Mexico City, or Grand
Cayman.

Similarly, 0 signals the caller's intent to place an international
call. This is why area codes do not start with either 1 or 0.

> I can dail full 10 digit numbers (1xxxyyyzzzz) without any
> problem in the US

Yes, but this is 11 digits. :)

Cheers,
NC

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