I won't even get into the three hours I just spent on the phone with who I thought was comcast (Atlanta: house, living)

[livinginbuffalo]

but was actually a third party provider of Comcast, then I actually spoke to Comcast, then back and forth and the run around I received. I still haven't set up my internet/phone/cable because I got frustrated to tears and my normally passive husband snatched the phone and started freaking out on these people.

But I digress....my understanding was that the 678 area code is normally for businesses and the 770 area code is for homes. I guess there is also a 404 area code (?)...not sure if that's in N. Atlanta. Now...apparently, there is a new 470 area code. Does anyone have this? I was so intent on having the 770 area code that I told Comcast I would have to call them back (they only have numbers starting with the 470 area code). I can get a 770 area code from AT&T but would then have my phone not bundled (don't think I can get Uverse where we are going and really don't want DirectTV) so...here is what I found on the internet about the 470:


ATLANTA, Feb. 21 /PRNewswire/ -- The Georgia Public Service Commission (PSC) recently voted to approve a telecommunications industry recommendation to assign a new area code to supplement the current 404, 770 & 678 codes for the metro Atlanta local calling area. Yesterday, the North American Number Plan Administration in Washington, DC, announced that the area code of 470 has been assigned to the Atlanta metropolitan area.

The new code will overlay the geographic areas currently designated as 404, 770 and 678. Customers who currently have either the 404, 770 or 678 area code will not have to change their telephone number to accommodate the introduction of the 470 area code. The geographic boundaries of the 404, 770 & 678 areas will not change. The new code will start being utilized during the summer of this year.

The introduction of the new 470 code is needed due to an increase in competition in the local telephone market and the growing demand by customers for additional telecommunications services.

Overlaying the new area code over the existing area codes will continue to require that 10-digit dialing will be mandatory on ALL calls within the metro Atlanta toll-free dialing area.

Ok, so this last line really got me. You actually have to dial all ten digits in the Atlanta area to call someone? I mean, I have had to do that because I have my out of state cell number but I didn't realize I would have to do that once I get a land line. So, if I have a 770 number and so does my friend, I still have to dial her whole ten digit number even if I'm in her area code? And, if I call my friend down the street with a 678 area code, is that considered a long distance number that I would have to have long distance service for?

And, also, in NY, we not only don't have to dial the area code but the next three digits are always the same based on what town you live in. If I live in Amherst, NY, my phone number is 716-634-xxxx, if I lived in Clarence, NY it would always be 716-759-xxxx. They don't have that here? So, has anyone heard about this 470 number and does it really matter what I have??? Thanks all.

[Mattie]

Yes, we dial the area code here. Yes, 678 is a residential area code, it's what we were given 6 years ago, and most of my friends in Milton have the same. We are not charged long distance rates for 404 or 770 though.

[PKCorey]

It is pretty close to the Macon area code of 478. I doubt, it will matter. The main issue is the learning curb for everyone who haven't heard that 470 is the new area code in town.

I never heard the news about this one.

You've always had to do 10 digit dialing here. No long distance charges in the metro area.

OT: I've noticed that you always start your post in the subject line...Do you do this for a particular reason?

[livinginbuffalo]

I don't know. Do I not need to use that title line? I just assumed! Testing....

Ah ha, so what do you normally put in the title? Nothing?

Or maybe I do it because I know you just won't be able to resist reading the end of my first sentence and then want to read on to answer me. ;-) (That's not the reason why, I didn't realize I was doing something wrong- thanks for pointing it out).

[PKCorey]

Or maybe I do it because I know you just won't be able to resist reading the end of my first sentence and then want to read on to answer me

LOL

You use the title when you are first making a topic (thats the title of the post) but when you writing your post..just stay inside the second box. Makes it easier to read your post.

[Mgyeldell]

Yes all the area codes in the Metro area are interchangeable none of them are "truly" designated for anything in particular.

But when I first moved to Atlanta people use to say

404 was for inside the perimeter
678/770 was for outside the perimter

The area is the world's largest toll-free calling zone spanning 7,162 square miles (18,549 km2),[14] has three active telephone area codes, and local calling extending into portions of two others. 404, which originally covered all of northern Georgia until 1992, now covers mostly the area inside the Perimeter (Interstate 285). In 1995, the suburbs were put into 770, requiring mandatory ten-digit dialing even for local calls under FCC rules. This made Atlanta one of the US's first cities to employ ten-digit dialing,[15] which was begun by BellSouth the year before the Centennial 1996 Olympic Games. In 1998, 678 was overlaid onto both of the existing 404 and 770 area codes. Mobile phones, originally only assigned to 404, may now have any local area code regardless of where in the region they were issued. Area code 470 will be the next area code, overlaid as was 678, but very likely to cause confusion with 404, 770, and neighboring 478. The local calling area also includes portions of 706/762 and a small area of 256 in Alabama on the Georgia border

Wikipedia

And Atlanta is located in the largest toll free calling area in the world.

[ericsonga]

Originally Posted by livinginbuffalo

but was actually a third party provider of Comcast, then I actually spoke to Comcast, then back and forth and the run around I received. I still haven't set up my internet/phone/cable because I got frustrated to tears and my normally passive husband snatched the phone and started freaking out on these people.

But I digress....my understanding was that the 678 area code is normally for businesses and the 770 area code is for homes. I guess there is also a 404 area code (?)...not sure if that's in N. Atlanta. Now...apparently, there is a new 470 area code. Does anyone have this? I was so intent on having the 770 area code that I told Comcast I would have to call them back (they only have numbers starting with the 470 area code). I can get a 770 area code from AT&T but would then have my phone not bundled (don't think I can get Uverse where we are going and really don't want DirectTV) so...here is what I found on the internet about the 470:


ATLANTA, Feb. 21 /PRNewswire/ -- The Georgia Public Service Commission (PSC) recently voted to approve a telecommunications industry recommendation to assign a new area code to supplement the current 404, 770 & 678 codes for the metro Atlanta local calling area. Yesterday, the North American Number Plan Administration in Washington, DC, announced that the area code of 470 has been assigned to the Atlanta metropolitan area.

The new code will overlay the geographic areas currently designated as 404, 770 and 678. Customers who currently have either the 404, 770 or 678 area code will not have to change their telephone number to accommodate the introduction of the 470 area code. The geographic boundaries of the 404, 770 & 678 areas will not change. The new code will start being utilized during the summer of this year.

The introduction of the new 470 code is needed due to an increase in competition in the local telephone market and the growing demand by customers for additional telecommunications services.

Overlaying the new area code over the existing area codes will continue to require that 10-digit dialing will be mandatory on ALL calls within the metro Atlanta toll-free dialing area.

Ok, so this last line really got me. You actually have to dial all ten digits in the Atlanta area to call someone? I mean, I have had to do that because I have my out of state cell number but I didn't realize I would have to do that once I get a land line. So, if I have a 770 number and so does my friend, I still have to dial her whole ten digit number even if I'm in her area code? And, if I call my friend down the street with a 678 area code, is that considered a long distance number that I would have to have long distance service for?

And, also, in NY, we not only don't have to dial the area code but the next three digits are always the same based on what town you live in. If I live in Amherst, NY, my phone number is 716-634-xxxx, if I lived in Clarence, NY it would always be 716-759-xxxx. They don't have that here? So, has anyone heard about this 470 number and does it really matter what I have??? Thanks all.

Yeah, it does get a touch confusing. But as was mentioned, we are in the largest toll free calling area in the world, so we try not to complain too much. Anything you have to dial a '1' before the area code is long distance.

Also, I'm from a small town in NE Georgia, and you could also tell what town someone was in by their phone number; ie 706-376-xxxx. However, here in Atlanta, that doesn't work.

Why in the world are you even getting a home phone? Is it 1985?

[lorilove]

I remember when Atlanta first went to 10 digit dialing. It was really confusing in the beginning because you only used the area code when it was not the same as yours or something like that so sometime it was 7 digits and sometime it was 10 digiits. It was easier when it became 10 digits accross the board.

It was about the same time that other large metro areas iike Chicago went to 10 digit dialing. I travel for work and when I am out of town and must give my local number, I naturally give the full 10 digits and people just look at your strange or snap at you that they don't need the area code. Seriously, I just wish everyone used 10 digits. With the rapid growth of cell phones this is getting more common.

In the early days people would get quite upset if they did not get the 404 code (original one in Atlanta) or the 212 in New York. No one cares much today although my sister when she had small kids just wanted to make sure that all phones in the family had the same exchange to make it easier for the kids to remember.

[mich2fla]

We kept things simple...we went with Dish Network for TV, Comcast for internet, and Ooma for house phone.

We got the Ooma from Costco for $175 and our basic service charges out the door is $3.47 a month (yes, $3.47). With Ooma, you hook it up to your router and you are able to pick your phone number. online. We were able to choose various area codes but we went with the 678 area code.

[Momdog]

Buffalo - Back in IL, several years ago, they added another area code so we then had to start dialing all 10 digits even if you were calling next door. It was annoying at first, but we got used to it very quickly.

Join the "I Hate Comcast" Facebook page...it won't help your situation but it will make you feel a little better. ;-)