most countries have a country code they can prefix the number with for international calling after that, its completely determined by that country.
In the US there is a 3 digit area code which more or less identifies state
The next 3 get roughly the city,
And the last 4 are up to the local phone company to distribute as they see fit.
These no longer necessarily fit now that cellphones are a thing and phones dont have a fixed location, but phone companies own blocks of numbers they can allocate as they wish.
Landline phone numbers are more organized and there is a reason. Historically, you didn’t talk to another person directly. You would talk to someone who would eventually route your call to the other person. To facilitate this, phone numbers were organized, so that, for example, 212 numbers were always in New York.
Besides the area code, the first 3 numbers often designate more specific areas or providers.
You can request specific numbers in certain situations.
My band has a custom phone number we set up through Google Voice. It spells our band name. We requested that number and they gave us an area code where that number was available.
Also, if you set up multiple phone lines at the same time, you’ll sometimes get numbers that are in sequence. My phone number and my mom’s phone number are one number different.
I can only answer how the numbers are assigned in the US.
First, there is the “nation code” that identifies what country you are calling. For the United States, the number is “1” so any long dostamce nber you call in the US is affixed with a 1- the 1 is usually left unsaid, though.
Next is the area code. This indicates a region of the country where the number and plan originated from. Some extremely populated areas can have area codes that only cover one or two cities, while less populated areas might cross state lines. These are designated with a three digit code. A few are designated for specific purposes such as 800, which is for toll-free calling, 900, which is for pay by the minute charging. Additionally, there are no area codes starting with the number 1 in the US. (Possibly because most businesses require people to dial “9” for an outside line, so an area code of 123 would result in a call to emergency services once they type 9-1-1.) When writing out the number it is usually writted in parenthesis, such as (505)-XXX-YYYY.
Next is the cell identifier. This is the three digit number that refers to the general location within the area code that the phone originated in (for landlines, this is where the line was connected). No area has a cell identifier of 555. This is used exclusively for fake numbers in media after backlash from the Tommy Tutone song 867-5309/Jenny. Where owners of the number were finding themselves subjected to harrassment. Now, businesses will pay a premium for the number for ease of advertisement.
The last four digits are the customer identifier. Which just tells you who you are calling.
Comments
most countries have a country code they can prefix the number with for international calling after that, its completely determined by that country.
In the US there is a 3 digit area code which more or less identifies state
The next 3 get roughly the city,
And the last 4 are up to the local phone company to distribute as they see fit.
These no longer necessarily fit now that cellphones are a thing and phones dont have a fixed location, but phone companies own blocks of numbers they can allocate as they wish.
Landline phone numbers are more organized and there is a reason. Historically, you didn’t talk to another person directly. You would talk to someone who would eventually route your call to the other person. To facilitate this, phone numbers were organized, so that, for example, 212 numbers were always in New York.
Besides the area code, the first 3 numbers often designate more specific areas or providers.
You can request specific numbers in certain situations.
My band has a custom phone number we set up through Google Voice. It spells our band name. We requested that number and they gave us an area code where that number was available.
Also, if you set up multiple phone lines at the same time, you’ll sometimes get numbers that are in sequence. My phone number and my mom’s phone number are one number different.
I can only answer how the numbers are assigned in the US.
First, there is the “nation code” that identifies what country you are calling. For the United States, the number is “1” so any long dostamce nber you call in the US is affixed with a 1- the 1 is usually left unsaid, though.
Next is the area code. This indicates a region of the country where the number and plan originated from. Some extremely populated areas can have area codes that only cover one or two cities, while less populated areas might cross state lines. These are designated with a three digit code. A few are designated for specific purposes such as 800, which is for toll-free calling, 900, which is for pay by the minute charging. Additionally, there are no area codes starting with the number 1 in the US. (Possibly because most businesses require people to dial “9” for an outside line, so an area code of 123 would result in a call to emergency services once they type 9-1-1.) When writing out the number it is usually writted in parenthesis, such as (505)-XXX-YYYY.
Next is the cell identifier. This is the three digit number that refers to the general location within the area code that the phone originated in (for landlines, this is where the line was connected). No area has a cell identifier of 555. This is used exclusively for fake numbers in media after backlash from the Tommy Tutone song 867-5309/Jenny. Where owners of the number were finding themselves subjected to harrassment. Now, businesses will pay a premium for the number for ease of advertisement.
The last four digits are the customer identifier. Which just tells you who you are calling.