NATION' WIDE NUMHi;i{IN(; I'I,\N 857 



tluM'pfoio, it will bo iipocssary during this interim jxMiod, Ix'loi'o the 

 centi'al office names witli the 2 ") typ(> of luimlxM' ai'e estal)lishe(l vvory- 

 whei'e, to employ foi' oixM'atoi' loll (lialiiiu,' office codes which in many 

 eases may not be deri\-ed tVom the customers' t(>lephone nuiubei'. 



Ill dialinjj; to a combined 2 4 and 2") city, f'oi- example ]>os Anfi;eles, 

 the three-diji;it office code f'oi' the Park\va\' office which has six difiits in 

 the local numl)er, will be PAR, wheivas to reach the Republic 2 office 

 havinji seven digits in the local number, the office code will be RE2. 

 To call a telephone in Winchester, \'a., with oni\- foui' digits in the local 

 numl)er, the operator will us(> a code consisting of numerical digits oidy, 

 such as 294 which, of course, must be different fi-om e\'eiy other office 

 code in this numlxM'ing plan area. To secure the particular office code 

 to be used in reaching an office where the called mmiber does not fiu'iiish 

 complete information, the toll operator must I'efer to a position bulletin 

 or the route operator. This reference work, of course, takes time and 

 therefore imposes a dela}' in completing the call. 



In addition to giving a distinctive three-digit code to eaeh office 

 within each numbering plan area, each toll center will also be given 

 a three-digit code to enable outward operators to reach inward informa- 

 tion, and delayed call operators at toll centers in distant cities. Calls to 

 these operators will be routed in the same manner as calls to customers 

 except that the operator codes will be used instead of a station mmiber 

 and a toll center code in place of a central office code. 



The central office names now in use in the various cities in the System 

 were chosen, generally speaking, on the basis of their suitability for 

 customer dialing within the cit}^ itself. Many of these names are un- 

 familiar words to operators and customers in distant cities and the use 

 of these names contributes materially to the operator dialing errors. 

 This situation is gradually being corrected by using for new offices, 

 names from a System approved list and replacing existing names which 

 experience has shown to be particularly troulilesome by names from this 

 list. 



While numbering plans are important in operator toll dialing, they 

 play an even more essential part in the dialing of toll calls by customers. 

 ( )i)erators can be trained to adapt their dialing procedures to the type 

 of local numbering system encountered in the called city even though 

 more time is consumed and more errors result than would be the case 

 if all telephone numbers were of a uniform type. Customers, however, 

 could not be expected to follow any plan which reciuires a \'ariety of 

 different procedures to be used in reaching different cities. Only a num- 

 bering system which is readily understandable and w^hich customers find 



