# What's the first "local" digit of your phone number? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [February 24, 2012, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-first-local-digit-of-your-phone-number/613877 "2012-02-24T21:12:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![spankthecrumpet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a87d85/32.png) [@spankthecrumpet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/spankthecrumpet)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2012, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-first-local-digit-of-your-phone-number/613877/1 "2012-02-24T21:12:06Z")
Local will depend on where you are. Use your common sense šŸ™‚ For example, an Isle of Man landline might be +44 (0)1624 812345. The +44 identifies it as UK/Isle of Man, 01624 identifies it as Isle of Man landline, and the 8 identifies it as a landline in the Isle of Man (kind of confusing but trust me on that). So the answer for someone with that number would be 1. I want to see if thereā€™s an interesting distribution. **In a north american phone number I want the 2 from 111-111-2111.** ---
**Author:** ![Christopher\_Robin\_Davies](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8dc957/32.png) [@Christopher\_Robin\_Davies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Christopher_Robin_Davies)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2012, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-first-local-digit-of-your-phone-number/613877/2 "2012-02-24T21:12:44Z")
1. ---
**Author:** ![spankthecrumpet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a87d85/32.png) [@spankthecrumpet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/spankthecrumpet)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2012, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-first-local-digit-of-your-phone-number/613877/3 "2012-02-24T21:15:22Z")
I have created a [similar poll](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=643175) and would appreciate anyone who votes in this voting there. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2012, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-first-local-digit-of-your-phone-number/613877/4 "2012-02-24T21:22:41Z")
Iā€™m not sure I get it. My number is (000) 123-4567. What should I answer? ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2012, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-first-local-digit-of-your-phone-number/613877/5 "2012-02-24T21:23:43Z")
> [@tdn](#): > > Iā€™m not sure I get it. My number is (000) 123-4567. What should I answer? 4, I think. ---
**Author:** ![ZenBeam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/3ab097/32.png) [@ZenBeam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZenBeam)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2012, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-first-local-digit-of-your-phone-number/613877/6 "2012-02-24T21:28:15Z")
In the US, a phone number would be like 987 654-3210, where 987 is the Area code, 654 is the exchange, and the last four donā€™t have a name AFAIK. Area Codes were, and mostly still are, non-overlapping, so those wouldnā€™t be what you want. The 654 prefix is local to an area, but isnā€™t the only one. A single area might have 654, 653, 652, 553, 552 all servicing it. There will be several/many prefixes covering an area. The last four are assigned randomly\*. So in this case, do you want ā€œ3ā€ for this poll? That would be my guess, but Iā€™m not sure. This is for landlines, not cell phones. - Not completely. When we got our phone number thirteen years ago, my wife was given a choice of three possible ā€œlast four digitsā€. They may also be assigned in blocks if youā€™re getting more than one number at an address. ---
**Author:** ![Heart\_of\_Dorkness](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/4bbf92/32.png) [@Heart\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Heart_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2012, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-first-local-digit-of-your-phone-number/613877/7 "2012-02-24T21:32:15Z")
> [@tdn](#): > > Iā€™m not sure I get it. My number is (000) 123-4567. What should I answer? Iā€™d say 0. As far as I can tell, the area code is the only geographically linked component of [our phone numbers](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_American_Numbering_Plan) (besides the country code). It does note about the 123 section: > [@](#): > > The three-digit Central Office codes are assigned to a specific CO serving its customers, but may be physically dispersed by redirection, or forwarding to mobile operators and other services. So itā€™s tied to _a_ geographic location, but not yours, or one thatā€™s near you, necessarily. Looking at the other responses, Iā€™m not sure. OP, what do you want from us? ---
**Author:** ![spankthecrumpet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a87d85/32.png) [@spankthecrumpet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/spankthecrumpet)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2012, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-first-local-digit-of-your-phone-number/613877/8 "2012-02-24T21:38:58Z")
I would like 4 in tdnā€™s situation, 3 in zenbeamā€™s situation ---
**Author:** ![gazpacho](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/6f9a4e/32.png) [@gazpacho](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gazpacho)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2012, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-first-local-digit-of-your-phone-number/613877/9 "2012-02-24T21:48:33Z")
When I was growing up in a small town in New Mexico it was (505 NM area code) (three digit local geographic indicator) (four random digits) Every body in town had the same three digital local geographic indicator. People in the next town had a different one. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2012, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-first-local-digit-of-your-phone-number/613877/10 "2012-02-24T21:53:22Z")
> [@spankthecrumpet](#): > > I would like 4 in tdnā€™s situation, 3 in zenbeamā€™s situation Ah, OK. 7 it is, then. šŸ˜‰ ---
**Author:** ![Rhiannon8404](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rhiannon8404/32/17929_2.png) [@Rhiannon8404](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhiannon8404)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2012, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-first-local-digit-of-your-phone-number/613877/11 "2012-02-24T22:06:15Z")
> [@spankthecrumpet](#): > > I would like 4 in tdnā€™s situation, 3 in zenbeamā€™s situation In that case I should have voted 4. It doesnā€™t have any ā€œlocalā€ connotation to it. As far as I can tell, in my area nothing past the area code (first three digits) has anything to do with where you live. Some exchanges (second three digits) belong to the company issuing them (359 = Surewest) and the rest seem random to me. As far as the last four numbers go, Iā€™m pretty sure they are completely random. ---
**Author:** ![DataX](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@DataX](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DataX)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2012, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-first-local-digit-of-your-phone-number/613877/12 "2012-02-24T22:09:05Z")
The telephone people use this when describing: NPA-NXX-XXXX NPA is the area code - these can overlap - but back in the day were unique (80s at least) and ALWAYS had a 1 or 0 in the middle. You could tell big cities as they always had short numbers (think pulse dialing - took less time at less wear and tear on switches. NYC is 212 - the shortest possible - while somewhere in Alaska is doing to use 8 or 9s. NXX - these used to be unique as well - and NEVER would have a zero or 1 as a first or second digit. Same now with first, but not second. These used to be assigned to each CO. There still is a fairly decent geographic component to these. XXXX - other than when a phone company reserves numbers - these were usually somewhat random - although many times the phone company would reserve 99XX for internal testing and 97XX - 98XX for payphones. Anyway - you arenā€™t going to find ANYONE in the us with the NPA first digit as a 0 or 1. And it will be biased to 0 and 1 for the second digit based on the old numbering scheme. And for the NXX part it would be the reverse - second digit - almost everyone is not going to have a 0 or 1 as the second digit of the NXX (but some will). For the XXXX part - AFAIK - randomish. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2012, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-first-local-digit-of-your-phone-number/613877/13 "2012-02-24T22:13:41Z")
Ok, this is one of two polls that donā€™t make sense. I have no idea which digit you want for a US phone number. And my phone number only has one last digit to it, it doesnā€™t have a second last digit. ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2012, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-first-local-digit-of-your-phone-number/613877/14 "2012-02-24T23:13:17Z")
Iā€™m sorry. My phone numbering doesnā€™t fit into your poll. šŸ™‚ The phone numbers in Canada are in the standard ten-digit North American format of +1 NPA NXX XXXX, where NPA is a three-digit area code. Previously, the area code was optional, not to be dialled on local calls. However, most of the area codes in Canada are now in ā€œoverlayā€ areas, where more than one area code is active in the same area. As a result, we have to dial all ten digits of the phone number, including the area code, even on local calls. Area codes where I am sitting right now, in the extended suburbs of Toronto, can be 289 or 905. Just over the hill, a five-minute drive away, is another area with codes 705 and 249. Many numbers in all four of these area codes are local to me. Thus, local numbers I dial can start with 2, 7, or 9. Then thereā€™s Toronto itself, 60 km away. It has two area codes, 416 and 647. People there can also call some 289 or 905 numbers locally. So they can call numbers starting with 2, 4, 6, or 9. And theyā€™re adding two more area codes to the region in 2013: 365 for the 'burbs and 437 for the city of Toronto. So then people will be able to dial numbers starting with 2, 3, 4, 6, or 9 locally from Toronto, and Iā€™ll be able to call numbers starting with 2, 3, 7, or 9 (assuming Iā€™m still here and havenā€™t died or moved to Hawaii or something). ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2012, 11:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-first-local-digit-of-your-phone-number/613877/15 "2012-02-24T23:23:06Z")
And Iā€™ll add that though I sit in the suburbs, Iā€™m using a cellphone with a Toronto number in area code 647. I dial out as if I were a user with a local number in area code 905/289, but people calling me have to call 647. So for purposes of the poll, Iā€™ll put down ā€œ6ā€. ---
**Author:** ![spankthecrumpet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a87d85/32.png) [@spankthecrumpet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/spankthecrumpet)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2012, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-first-local-digit-of-your-phone-number/613877/16 "2012-02-24T23:26:17Z")
In a north american phone number I want the 2 from 111-111-2111. Iā€™ve certainly learned something about north american phone numbers at least here! I pretty much knew how the formatting system worked; what I didnā€™t realise is how my question would be completely misinterpreted due to the empahasis on local ---
**Author:** ![Giles](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/giles/32/60_2.png) [@Giles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giles)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2012, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-first-local-digit-of-your-phone-number/613877/17 "2012-02-24T23:35:00Z")
Iā€™m not sure how Australian phone numbers fit into the OPā€™s schema. Here in Newcastle, phone numbers are +61-2-49XX-YYYY (or 02-49XX-YYYY from inside Australia). Before there was some reorganisation of the phone numbers in Australia, to add room for expansion, they used to be 049-XX-YYYY ā€“ those were the days when people rarely directly dialled international calls. The XX represents an exchange, and the YYYY was assigned to phones linked to that exchange. So I suppose the first digit of the YYYY group is what the OP is after. ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2012, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-first-local-digit-of-your-phone-number/613877/18 "2012-02-24T23:48:22Z")
> [@spankthecrumpet](#): > > In a north american phone number I want the 2 from 111-111-2111. > > Iā€™ve certainly learned something about north american phone numbers at least here! I pretty much knew how the formatting system worked; what I didnā€™t realise is how my question would be completely misinterpreted due to the empahasis on local But in the local area, _any_ local area in the NANP, that digit could be any digit from 0 to 9! It is in no way an indication of whether a number belongs to a particular locality; that is indicated by the combination of area code and exchange code. For instance, consider the village of Sutton, Ontario. It is located in area code 905 and 289. It has local exchange codes 905-596, 905-722, and 289-576. [Link.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Area_codes_905_and_289) Any of these exchange codes can have ā€œline numbersā€ from 0000 to 9999. But itā€™s the exchange code and area code that are tied to the ā€œrate centreā€, which determines the location the number is deemed to have. Now, if youā€™d just said, ā€œwhatā€™s the first digit of your line numberā€, and left ā€œlocalā€ out of it, I would have said ā€œ0ā€. šŸ™‚ ---
**Author:** ![FoieGrasIsEvil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foiegrasisevil/32/16638_2.png) [@FoieGrasIsEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FoieGrasIsEvil)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2012, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-first-local-digit-of-your-phone-number/613877/19 "2012-02-24T23:49:31Z")
Is this part of some bizarre Nigerian scam to get our phone numbers? šŸ˜‰ ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2012, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-first-local-digit-of-your-phone-number/613877/20 "2012-02-24T23:54:52Z")
> [@FoieGrasIsEvil](#): > > Is this part of some bizarre Nigerian scam to get our phone numbers? Itā€™s actually a secret Manx plan to assemble a ā€˜compositeā€™ North American phone number that will, like a skeleton key, be able to tap into every phone accā€“oops. Iā€™ve said too much. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-first-local-digit-of-your-phone-number/613877.md?page=2)