If you find an old dial phone used in Waltham, you may find that the number includes a mnemonic like "Twinbrook 3". TUV is on the 8 and WXYZ is on the 9. These used to be used to help people remember the first 3 digits of a 7 digit phone number. For instance, 893-1234 would be said as "Twinbrook-3 1234", because Twinbrook begins with T and W. The twin brooks in Waltham are Beaver Brook and Chester Brook. Does anyone out there have a list of all the mnemonics?
Massachusetts received new overlay area codes beginning September 15th, 2000. This means that new phone numbers will get the new area codes, in the same areas as existing area codes, as follows:
Current Area Code New Area Code 617 857 781 339 508 774 978 351 413 None
The following excerpts were from the Bell Atlantic (now Verizon) website.
The way you dial a local call will change beginning September 15, 2000. To prepare for the new area codes, beginning September 15, 2000, all customers in Eastern Massachusetts should begin dialing all local calls using 10 digits (area code + seven digit phone number).
We call this a Ten-number Number SM.
From September 15, 2000 until April 2, 2001, all local calls can be dialed with the 7-digit number or with ten-digit dialing (area code + seven digit phone number).
Ten-digit dialing is required on April 2, 2001 for all local calls within Eastern Massachusetts.
Telephone numbers are not changing.
Local calling areas are not changing. A local call is still a local call. A toll call is still a toll call.
Reaching emergency service providers (911) will not change.
You have a Ten-number Number even if you do not have one of the new area codes. When giving or getting a telephone number, be sure to include an area code.
Check any telephone equipment or service that dials or stores telephone numbers and reprogram it to dial ten digits for local calls.
Starting September 15, 2000, dial ten digits (Area Code + 7-digit telephone number) when you make any local call in Eastern Massachusetts (area codes 617, 781, 978 and 508).
If you have questions, you may call the Area Code Information line at 1-877-554-3685, Monday through Friday, 9 am 5 pm EST.
Beginning April 2, 2001, if you do not dial local calls using the Ten-number Number, you will get a recorded message instructing you how to correctly dial your calls."
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Updated: 24 December 2018