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Beginning in 1995, area codes were added in the US and Canada that did not have a 0 or a 1 as the middle digit. Beginning in the 1970's in New York and Los Angeles, and gradually across the country since then, local numbers could have 0 or 1 as the middle digit. These developments broke down the old arrangement that allowed the telephone switch to tell quickly whether you were dialing an area code or a prefix within your own area code. For example, 512-5551 was not a valid number, so you must have been dialing (512) 555-1xxx. Conversely, there was no area code 347, so 347-5551 had to be a complete number within the same area code.

To avoid ambiguity and confusion, you must now dial the area code on any call with the 1+ or 0+ prefix.

In areas with overlay area codes, it gets even more complicated. For example, if you're in Miami, your phone might be in area code 305 or in area code 786. If you dialed just a 7-digit number, it would be ambiguous which of two possible local numbers you wanted to reach. Thus, you have to dial the area code on every call. In Canada and in many parts of the US, you can dial just 10 digits, the area code and the number. However, in other parts of the US, you must dial 1+area+number.

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