What is the definition of an area code?

Answer 1

An area code is a telephone numbering prefix used to identify a region of a country or a particular telephone service.

In North America (USA, Canada, etc.), the area code is always 3 digits, always followed by a 7-digit local number. For example, in (999) 555-0123, '999' is the area code.

Other countries have different systems. In many countries, the length of the area code varies according to the size of the main city in that area code. For example, in the UK, 020 is the area code for London, but 016973 is the area code for Wigton, a small village in Cumbria. Some countries don't have area codes at all: Denmark, Norway, Costa Rica, Vanuatu, and quite a few others.

In most countries, the area code is quoted including the trunk prefix 0. In most cases, you do not dial the domestic trunk prefix on international calls, so London's 020 area code becomes +44 20. However, there are a few exceptions, most notably Italy: Rome's 06 becomes +39 06, for example.

(The plus sign means "insert your international access prefix here." From a GSM mobile phone, you can enter the number in full international format, starting with the plus sign. The most common prefix is 00, but North America (USA, Canada, etc.) uses 011, Japan uses 010, Australia uses 0011, and many other countries use different prefixes.)

Answer 2

A telephone area code is a numeric prefix identified with a particular region of a country.

In most countries, a telephone number consists of the country code, the area code, and the local number. For example, the number +1 311 555 0123 is country code +1, area code 311, local number 555-0123. The number +44 20 7496 0123 is country code +44, area code 20, local number 7496-0123.

Some countries, particularly smaller countries, do not have area codes. In that case, you have only the country code and the local number.

Answer 3

When introduced, area codes were important to helping route calls around the country: local calls were handled by your local telephone exchange, but dialling an area code told the exchange to connect your call to another exchange in the area of your destination area.

Nowadays, having area codes isn't technically necessary but they still serve several purposes:

1. It allows local calls to be dialled using fewer numbers. For example, Bristol has the area code of 0117, followed by seven digit local numbers. Within the Bristol area, this code can be dropped and local calls connected by using just the seven digit local number, saving time when dialling.

2. Similarly, splitting the country into area codes and having the facility to dial locally as described above in (1) makes numbers easier to remember locally. For example, if you lived in Swansea you would be used to all local numbers beginning with the 01792 area code, and you'd then only need to remember the following six digit local number for anybody you wanted to call in the area. If we didn't use area codes, all phones would just have a random 11 digit string of numbers which would be much harder to remember. (It'd be much easier to remember that your two friends are at Swansea 202819 and Swansea 334127 than 83294800938 and 46839710922.)

3. It is helpful to identify local businesses or people. For example, if you live in Cardiff and have the 029 area code, you know that anybody else with an area code of 029 is also local - helpful when finding local businesses, for example.

Some small countries don't use area codes any more. For example, telephones in Denmark each just have a unique eight-digit number, with the telephone network working out how to route the call.

Answer 4

A telephone area code is a prefix that identifies a city or region, or in some cases a mobile (or other) phone company.

In general, most telephone numbers consist of

country code + area code + subscriber number

How much of that sequence you must dial, and with what other prefixes, depends on where you are in relation to the place you are calling, and also on the dialing plan in your location. For example, in the United States, in most places you do not have to dial the area code for a local call in the same area code, but in places with overlays (multiple area codes for the same geographic region), you must always dial the area code.

Some countries, especially small ones, do not have area codes, so the telephone number is just the country code and the subscriber number.

Answer 5

A telephone area code is a numeric prefix that identifies a geographic region of a country. In the United States and Canada, area codes are always three digits, but in other countries, area codes may have different lengths, even within the same country.

In many cases, you do not need to dial the area code when making a local call within the same area code, although the rules differ from place to place.

Answer 6

In general, a telephone area code is a numeric prefix identifying telephone numbers in a particular part of a country. There are also prefixes for some special types of telephone service, such as mobile phones (cell phones) or toll-free (freephone) numbers or premium-rate services, but I will focus only on geographic area codes for regular landline numbers.

In many places, a local call to a number within the same area code can be dialed without the area code, just by dialing the local number. Even in places where that is not possible, having only one or a few area codes in the local area makes it easier to remember telephone numbers, and hopefully easier to recognize numbers that are nearby.

To place a long-distance call, it is usually necessary to dial the long-distance prefix (trunk prefix), then the area code and number. In countries that use 0 as the main prefix, it is often quoted together with the area code. For example, the area code for Liverpool is really 151, but it is usually quoted as 0151 because that is how it is dialed within the UK.

Answer 7

A telephone area code is a numeric prefix for telephone numbers in a particular region of a country.