Everything you need to know about landline services in the country
There is a variety of different kinds of local landline phone service available in the country. Private companies handle the local landline services. Obtaining a connection is not tough. You have to sign up by filling a few documents and giving your proof of identity to the service provider of your choice. Verizon, Bellsouth, and SBC are some of the companies providing local landline phone services.

What is a telephone dialing system?

• Every landline number has an assigned area code. If the area code comes under the same place as your landline number, then the phone number is a local number and if you are calling outside your area code, it is a long-distance number.
• Landline numbers are seven digits and the area codes are three digits.
• Most of the telephone directories provide the area codes in front of the numbers.
• Metropolitan areas have overlapped area codes so if your number is 143, there is a slight chance that your neighbor’s area code could be 920.
• In such overlapped areas, always add a 1 and then the area code before the seven-digit landline number.
• The operator can be reached by dialing “0” for local calls and a double ‘00’ for long-distance calls, and this is applicable for landlines phones only.

What are some of the different calling plans?

• Companies these days provide unlimited local calling offers.
• Some companies provide not just regional but also long-distance landline calls.
• Some companies charge approximately $25 upfront for free unlimited calls, which is a one-time payment along with the initial payment.
• The other private companies even charge per minute for regional local calls and long-distance numbers.

How do hotel phones and pay phones work?

• The phones you see inside every hotel room are an extension. Some hotels have an extra extension in the bathroom as well. A hotel has the authority to charge customers for the calls they make using the hotel phone. Even if it is toll-free, the charges are as per the hotel’s pricing policy.
• If you do not wish to pay the extra charge of hotel phones, you can use the public phones.
• In a public phone, you need to put 50 cents to make a local phone call that has a time limit of three minutes. Instructions for whichever call you want to make are posted on the telephone itself. If the call fails then your money is refunded through the slot below the phone.

What is an operator-assisted call on a landline?

• If the dialer has any issue dialing regional or long-distance numbers, he/she can simply dial the number 0 for local calls and 00 for long-distance calls. The operator is available 24 hours, 7 days of the week.
• This is not free assistance as they are doing their job by connecting the preferred number for you and the cost of the call is subsequently quite higher compared to the self-dialed calls.
• There are options of person-to-person or station-to-station operator assistance available in the country.
• Station-to-station calls are ones in which a call can go to anyone and you are ready to speak to them. Person-to-person call cost more and dial the right number for you and if it is not answered then you don’t lose any money.

What are the important numbers everyone should know of?

• The 911 toll-free number for any kind of emergencies.
• 411 for local phone directory assistance.
• For long-distance directory assistance dial 1, plus the area code 555-1212.
• 1-800-555-1212 for toll-free number assistance.

Do landlines have answering machine and voicemail facilities?

• Landlines have answering machine and voicemail facilities. They have a built-in service or a forwarding number service.
• There is a separate answering machine that can be integrated with your landline as well.