7 Digit Dialing WORKING!

Posts: 10 · Posted: Fri Jun 18, 2004 10:08 pm Post subject:

Thanks Moto, I just did a comparison and experienced the same delay in connecting. At least when I have a guest at the house, I won't have to explain the 11 digit dialing when they ask to use the phone.

BTW - I tried 7 digit dialing with Click-2-Call and it worked.

Posts: 43 · Posted: Fri Jun 18, 2004 10:49 pm Post subject:

It sort of works here in 501.

Here's something interesting:
I can call POTS users with a "local" prefix using 7-digits. But when I try calling 30 miles away (same area code), it doesn't work. Under a POTS, this second number would not be a local call, so I wonder if that makes a difference?

Posts: 10 · Posted: Fri Jun 18, 2004 11:05 pm Post subject:

chammi wrote:

It sort of works here in 501.

Here's something interesting:
I can call POTS users with a "local" prefix using 7-digits. But when I try calling 30 miles away (same area code), it doesn't work. Under a POTS, this second number would not be a local call, so I wonder if that makes a difference?

Hmmm, 7 digit seems to work calling anywhere in my (315) area code. How would you have to dial the same number from your old POTS line? At one time in 315, we had to dial 1+(7 digit) for toll calls within our area code.

Posts: 43 · Posted: Sat Jun 19, 2004 2:54 am Post subject:

Under the old POTS system, if I were in 501-817-xxxx (my Vonage prefix--Ferndale), I could call Hillcrest (501-663-xxxx about 7 miles east) locally, but Conway is in the neighboring county and so I would need to do 1-501-450-xxxx.

Similarly, my 501-663-xxxx number seems to be working fine with 7-digits, but the 501-450-xxxx numbers are requiring 10 digits.

Perhaps this is an Arkansas issue? It wasn't too many years ago that we had one area code for the entire state and that you could dial long distance without "1".

Posts: 43 · Posted: Sat Jun 19, 2004 3:03 am Post subject:

chammi wrote:

....Similarly, my 501-663-xxxx number seems to be working fine with 7-digits, but the 501-450-xxxx numbers are requiring 10 digits. ....

Scratch that! As of just now, I was able to place a 501-450 call using 7 digits (or 10, or 1+10)! My apologies to the Conway Recycling Hotline.. I was expecting Vonage to fix it eventually (after all, couldn't this sort of thing take a few days to deploy fully?)... I just didn't expect it to work until next week. Hurray!

Posts: 17 · Vonage Forum Associate Joined: Nov 29, 2003 Posts: 17

Interesting. I just tested the 7 digit dialing and it worked to my POTS line from Vonage OK. FROM my POTS line calls require 10 or 11 digit dialing. Advantage Vonage!

Posts: 51 · Posted: Sat Jun 19, 2004 8:44 am Post subject:

OK, 7 digit dialing is now working in the 845ac, but with a couple seconds delay. It looks like they are still ironing out the bugs. Shouldn't be too long before it is up and running smoothly.

Posts: 35 · Posted: Sat Jun 19, 2004 9:34 am Post subject:

A delay would be expected, at least in the beginning. When I was in college I worked in the schools trelecom department and helped run a Nortel Option-11 system (a BIG phone system). Anyway, the campus radio station wanted a telephone number of 530 (for 530 AM). Normal telephone extensions were four digits. I found that I was able to set it up but callers had to wait for the switch to time out while waiting for the fourth digit. In other words, a caller dialed 5 3 0 and the switch would wait for the fourth digit. It never came so the caller was then connected to the radio station extension.

Now, you may say that Vonage should allow seven digit dialing if the first digit is not a 1. Fair enough. BUT, I think what is screwing it up is that Vonage is allowing 10 digit dialing too. Let me 'splain:

Lets say that my phone number at work is 616-913-2142 (a valid Grand Rapids, Michigan phone number, NOT MY REAL OFFICE NUMBER!). From my 616-261-xxxx number, I can dial seven digits and be connected. However, lets say I am calling a number in Olathe, Kansas. The number is, lets say, 913-214-2333 (this is a valid Olathe, Kansas area code and exchange). Here is what I believe happens:

If I call Olathe, Kansas from my home I dial 913-214-2333 and it goes through immediately. But if I call my office by dialing 913-2142, Vonage can't immediately dial the number because I may be adding digits to call Olathe, Kansas. Therefore, Vonage waits until I time out the system, and only then can they complete my call.

The obvious solution here is to eliminate 10 digit dialing. Then, if you dial a 1 first, you intend 11 digit dialing. If the first digit is not a 1, you intend 7 digit dialing.

(All NPA (area code) and NXX (local exchange) data from this post comes from http://puck.nether.net/npa-nxx/, a lookup database for NPA and NXX codes).

Posts: 51 · Posted: Sat Jun 19, 2004 10:12 am Post subject:

Thanks for the great explanation! In light of this situation, is it possible (or likely) that Vonage will eliminate 10 digit dialing?

Posts: 35 · Posted: Sat Jun 19, 2004 1:57 pm Post subject:

Well, I did a quick search of the vonage.com website... They are still touting 11 digit dialing. Perhaps this is a feature that we are not supposed to know about yet because they are still perfecting it.

Some enterprising young soul here (probably Moto) tried it one day and it worked, or maybe Vonage leaked it out Whisper

to see if people would try it. Either way, we are a bunch of test subjects! My bet is that they will either leave it as is or get rid of the 10 digit dialing. Some parts of the country actually still use 10 digit dialing on POTS (Atlanta comes to mind for some reason) so they are probably trying to make it work for everyone...

Who knows, maybe they will let you select how you want to dial from your dashboard?