So all of Chicago, except downtown, is slated to get a new area code. What will happen when even that is not enough? Will they partition Chicago by township?
The plain fact is that there’s a telecommunications revolution going on. Until phone numbers become portable with each person, we’re going to need lots and lots of new phone numbers.
Here’s an idea: Instead of this piecemeal approach to new area codes, why not make everyone switch from the three-digit phone-company area code to the five-digit postal ZIP code. These numbers are already in place. The changeover would affect everyone equally. There are still plenty of unused five-digit ZIP codes available, even in as crowded a place as the Chicago area. If the phone population of a ZIP-code were to grow too large to accommodate all of its phones, it would be a much simpler matter to partition a ZIP code as compared to partitioning an area code.
Best of all, we wouldn’t have to change phone numbers for a couple of generations!
