Area Codes 408 And 669
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Area codes 408 and 669 are
telephone A telephone, colloquially referred to as a phone, is a telecommunications device that enables two or more users to conduct a conversation when they are too far apart to be easily heard directly. A telephone converts sound, typically and most ...
area code A telephone numbering plan is a type of numbering scheme used in telecommunication to assign telephone numbers to subscriber telephones or other telephony endpoints. Telephone numbers are the addresses of participants in a telephone network, rea ...
s in the
North American Numbering Plan The North American Numbering Plan (NANP) is an integrated telephone numbering plan for twenty-five regions in twenty countries, primarily in North America and the Caribbean. This group is historically known as World Zone 1, World Numbering Zone ...
(NANP) in the
U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its so ...
of
California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...
. The numbering plan area comprises most of
Santa Clara County Santa Clara County, officially the County of Santa Clara, is the sixth-most populous county in the U.S. state of California, with a population of 1,936,259 as of the 2020 census. Santa Clara County and neighboring San Benito County form the ...
and Northern Santa Cruz County, and includes Gilroy, Morgan Hill, Saratoga, Los Gatos, Monte Sereno, Milpitas, Sunnyvale, Santa Clara, Cupertino, Campbell, and San Jose. Area code 408 was split from area code 415 in 1959. The numbering plan area was reduced in geographic extent in 1998 for the creation of
area code 831 Area code 831 is a telephone area code in the North American Numbering Plan for a small region of the U.S. state of California. The numbering plan area (NPA) comprises Monterey County, San Benito County, and Santa Cruz County. The area code w ...
. In 2012, area code 669 was assigned as a second area code for same numbering plan area by overlay.


History

In 1947, the
American Telephone and Telegraph Company AT&T Corporation, an abbreviation for its former name, the American Telephone and Telegraph Company, was an American telecommunications company that provided voice, video, data, and Internet telecommunications and professional services to busi ...
(AT&T) devised the first nationwide
telephone numbering plan A telephone numbering plan is a type of numbering scheme used in telecommunication to assign telephone numbers to subscriber telephones or other telephony endpoints. Telephone numbers are the addresses of participants in a telephone network, reach ...
and assigned the
original North American area codes The original North American area codes were established by the American Telephone and Telegraph Company (AT&T) in 1947. The assignment was in accord with the design of a uniform nationwide telephone numbering plan that supported the goal of dialin ...
. The state of California was divided into three numbering plan areas (NPAs) with distinct area codes: 213, 415, and 916, for the southern, central, and northern parts of the state, respectively. California area codes were reorganized geographically in 1950, so that 916 was assigned to a numbering plan area that comprised only the northeastern part from the
Sierra Nevada The Sierra Nevada ( ) is a mountain range in the Western United States, between the Central Valley of California and the Great Basin. The vast majority of the range lies in the state of California, although the Carson Range spur lies primari ...
to the Central Valley. The coastal area to the west was assigned area code 415. Area code 408 was split from numbering plan area 415 in a flash-cut (without permissive dialing period) on March 1, 1959. The new numbering plan area included most of Santa Clara, Santa Cruz,
Monterey Monterey ( ; ) is a city situated on the southern edge of Monterey Bay, on the Central Coast of California. Located in Monterey County, the city occupies a land area of and recorded a population of 30,218 in the 2020 census. The city was fou ...
and San Benito Counties. In 1997, the California/Nevada Code Administrator (C/NCA) advised the
North American Numbering Plan Administration The North American Numbering Plan (NANP) is an integrated telephone numbering plan for twenty-five regions in twenty countries, primarily in North America and the Caribbean. This group is historically known as World Zone 1, World Numbering Zone ...
(NANPA) of the need for area code relief in the 408 numbering plan area. A geographic
area code split In telecommunications, an area code split is the practice of introducing a new telephone area code by geographically dividing an existing numbering plan area (NPA), and assigning area codes to the resulting divisions, but retaining the existing a ...
had been approved by the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) which would install
area code 831 Area code 831 is a telephone area code in the North American Numbering Plan for a small region of the U.S. state of California. The numbering plan area (NPA) comprises Monterey County, San Benito County, and Santa Cruz County. The area code w ...
for a new numbering plan area comprising the communities of Santa Cruz, Salinas, Monterey, and Hollister. Area code 408 would be retained in Sunnyvale, San Jose, Los Gatos, and Gilroy. The area code split became effictive on July 11, 1998, with a permissive dialing period ending on February 20, 1999. Months later, by late 1998, continued growth in telecommunication services in Northern California required further area code relief for the 408 numbering plan area. A November 1998 relief plan was approved by the CPUC that proposed an overlay complex for NPA 408, with the new area code 669. However, by December 1999, the CPUC suspended the 408 overlay, along with all other then-scheduled overlay relief actions (NPAs 415, 510, 650, 714, and 909), due to the implementation of telephone number pooling, a more efficient number allocation method. Telephone number pooling staved off exhaustion for over a decade, but by 2011, the 408 area code was forecast to require relief by the second quarter of 2012. From May to October 2011, public feedback was solicited in the area. On October 20, 2011, the California Public Utilities Commission confirmed implementing 669 as an overlay to the existing 408 numbering plan area, the first in the
San Francisco Bay Area The San Francisco Bay Area, commonly known as the Bay Area, is a List of regions of California, region of California surrounding and including San Francisco Bay, and anchored by the cities of Oakland, San Francisco, and San Jose, California, S ...
. The new area code's official in-service date was November 20, 2012, when new central office codes could be activated. A six-month permissive dialing period was conducted from April 21 to October 20 during which calls could be initiated by seven- or ten-digit dialing. Ten-digit dialing also required the prefix digit ''1'' (1+10-digit dialing).
AT&T AT&T Inc., an abbreviation for its predecessor's former name, the American Telephone and Telegraph Company, is an American multinational telecommunications holding company headquartered at Whitacre Tower in Downtown Dallas, Texas. It is the w ...
telephone bills, shortly before the overlay was to go into effect, included the following information for 408 area code customers: * Effective April 21, 2012, you should begin the new dialing procedures ([i.e., to use the area code) whenever you place a call from the 408 area code. If you forget and dial just seven digits, your call will still be completed. * Beginning October 20, 2012, you must use the new dialing procedures (...) for all calls. After this date, if you do not use the new dialing procedures, your call will not be completed and a recording will instruct you to hang up and dial again. * Beginning November 20, 2012, new telephone lines or services may be assigned numbers using the 669 area code.


Los Gatos

Los Gatos is one of three cities in
Santa Clara County Santa Clara County, officially the County of Santa Clara, is the sixth-most populous county in the U.S. state of California, with a population of 1,936,259 as of the 2020 census. Santa Clara County and neighboring San Benito County form the ...
that were not served by the Bell System. Gilroy and Morgan Hill were also served by independent telephone companies. According to historian Willys I. Peck, the Los Gatos Telephone Company was the first company to offer telephone service in town. Later, the Western California Telephone Company provided service to Los Gatos and to Novato, Morgan Hill, and Kenwood. In the 1970s, the utility was acquired by General Telephone and Electronics, which changed its name to GTE, and merged with Bell Atlantic in 2000 to become
Verizon Communications Verizon Communications Inc. ( ), is an American telecommunications company headquartered in New York City. It is the world's second-largest telecommunications company by revenue and its mobile network is the largest wireless carrier in the ...
. Verizon served these areas until April 1, 2016, when
Frontier Communications Frontier Communications Parent, Inc. is an American telecommunications company. Known as Citizens Utilities Company until 2000, Citizens Communications Company until 2008, and Frontier Communications Corporation until 2020, as a communications pr ...
acquired the service. Los Gatos was served by three central offices. Historically, these were called the Six Office (356), the Four Office (354), and the Mountain Office (353). The first two of these designations come from the addition of an extra digit when to the historic exchange name (ELgato) when the town converted from manual to dial service. Telephone numbers had the prefix ELgato-6 and ELgato-4, respectively (dialed as ELx-xxxx.) By 1975, 358 had been added as an additional central office prefix.AT&T (1975) ''Traffic Routing Guide'' The Mountain Office served the Summit Road community and areas of the Santa Cruz Mountains west of town. Although the office code or prefix for service from this switch was ELgato-3 (353), it was not referred to as the ''Three Office''. During the 1970s and early 1980s, the area was served by Automatic Electric step-by-step (SXS) electromechanical switching equipment. The step office was a maintenance headache; it being in a rural area made the problem more difficult. Users noticed
crosstalk In electronics, crosstalk (XT) is a phenomenon by which a signal transmitted on one circuit or channel of a transmission system creates an undesired effect in another circuit or channel. Crosstalk is usually caused by undesired capacitive, ...
, and dial pulsing was audible during at least some of their calls. The outside plant in the mountain area was subject to a variety of tough environmental factors, including long loop lengths and the high humidity of the
redwood forest ''Sequoia sempervirens'' ()''Sunset Western Garden Book,'' 1995: 606–607 is the sole living species of the genus '' Sequoia'' in the cypress family Cupressaceae (formerly treated in Taxodiaceae). Common names include coast redwood, coasta ...
. The area is now served by remote equipment on Summit Road connected to the central office on Los Gatos Boulevard. Before the late 1980s and the arrival of cellular and PCS
mobile phone A mobile phone or cell phone is a portable telephone that allows users to make and receive calls over a radio frequency link while moving within a designated telephone service area, unlike fixed-location phones ( landline phones). This rad ...
service, GTE offered
Improved Mobile Telephone Service The Improved Mobile Telephone Service (IMTS) was a pre- cellular VHF/ UHF radio system which linked to the public telephone network. IMTS was the radiotelephone equivalent of land dial phone service. Introduced in 1964, it replaced Mobile Te ...
(IMTS) on VHF (152 MHz) and UHF (454 MHz) frequencies in Los Gatos. The service included full-duplex dial service. Tight restrictions were imposed on call durations because there were only a few channels available. In the late 1970s, daytime calls longer than three minutes were billed at over $1 per minute to discourage the long-winded. The VHF equipment was located near the Santa Clara Valley Water District's Rinconada Water Treatment Plant on More Avenue at NAD27 coordinates . The IMTS system included General Electric mobile radio voting equipment. (Voting is a form of
diversity combining Diversity combining is the technique applied to combine the multiple received signals of a diversity reception device into a single improved signal. Various techniques Various diversity combining techniques can be distinguished: * Equal-gain co ...
used in mobile radio systems on land.) One receiver for at least one of the voted IMTS channels was located in a pole mount-cabinet on a utility pole along Montevina Road off
California State Route 17 State Route 17 (SR 17, locally known as Highway 17) is a state highway in the U.S. state of California that runs from State Route 1 in Santa Cruz to I-280 and I-880 in San Jose. SR 17, a freeway and expressway, carries substan ...
. These IMTS systems were dismantled after cellular systems became available to subscribers in the Bay Area.


San Jose


Manual service

Before 1949, San Jose telephone service was manual. A subscriber would lift the receiver and wait for the operator to inquire, "Number Please?" Most telephone numbers started with ''Ballard'' or ''Columbia''. Mayfair numbers served the east side. The City manager's telephone number was ''Ballard 1'' while most numbers had four digits and a letter, (for example: ''Ballard 2345 W''). One of four letters was appended to telephone numbers: J, M, R, or W to designate each station connected to the four-party line.


Dial service and numbering plan

After the conversion to dial service in 1949, San Jose telephone numbers started with names including ALpine-, ANdrews-, BAldwin-, CLayburn-, and CYpress-. As the North American Numbering Plan evolved in the 1950s, these became today's 25x-, 26x-, 22x-, 258-, and 29x-numbers, respectively. Until the late 1970s, central office code protection was maintained between area codes 415 and 408, so that Telephone numbers were not duplicated across, and subscribers could dial seven-digit
San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...
or Berkeley numbers without dialing an area code. Population growth, facsimile machines, and pagers caused demands for numbers to outrun the capacity of this arrangement. The additional demands for PCS and cellular phone numbers helped necessitate the 831/408 area code split, the 650/415 split, and the earlier 510/415 split. Part of the previous dialing plan included a mass calling prefix for radio station contests, introduced in the 1960s because some contests put unacceptable loads on the Bay Area's telephone switches. Until the 1980s, radio station call-in contests throughout the Bay Area used 575-numbers. Electromechanical switching equipment of the day had been engineered to accommodate large call volumes to 575-numbers. Large numbers of calls would otherwise have overloaded switching equipment causing slow dial tone and blocked long-distance circuits. A patchwork quilt of electromechanical switching equipment handled San Jose calls between 1949 and the 1980s. There were about eight Western Electric Crossbar switches, at least one Number 1 and mostly Number 5. There was a Western Electric 4A Crossbar that took up two floors of the Main
telephone exchange A telephone exchange, telephone switch, or central office is a central component of a telecommunications system in the public switched telephone network (PSTN) or in large enterprises. It facilitates the establishment of communication circuits ...
. In the mid-1980s, the 4A crossbar was replaced with a digital switch which took up part of a single floor and quadrupled calling capacity. The 408 area code was the last area code in the United States to institute the requirement of dialing "1" before making a long-distance call.


Mobile service

Before the existence of cell phones,
Improved Mobile Telephone Service The Improved Mobile Telephone Service (IMTS) was a pre- cellular VHF/ UHF radio system which linked to the public telephone network. IMTS was the radiotelephone equivalent of land dial phone service. Introduced in 1964, it replaced Mobile Te ...
(IMTS) was offered. As of 1983, three VHF and two UHF channels were available. Subscribers had either a VHF or UHF vehicle-mounted phone, consequently they could access only two or three channels over the entire San Jose area. On VHF, the maximum system capacity for the San Jose system was three simultaneous calls. There was a roaming feature, but no registration scheme like the ones used by modern PCS and cell phones.


Service area

Alum Rock, Bell Station, Buena Vista,
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, Campbell,
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, Loma Chiquita, Chemeketa Park, Cupertino, East Foothills, Fruitdale, Glenwood, Gilroy,
Holy City A holy city is a city important to the history or faith of a specific religion. Such cities may also contain at least one headquarters complex (often containing a religious edifice, seminary, shrine, residence of the leading cleric of the religi ...
, Laurel, Lexington Hills, Los Gatos, Milpitas, Monte Sereno, Morgan Hill, a small part of Mountain View, Redwood Estates, Rucker, San Antonio Valley, San Jose, San Martin, Santa Clara, Saratoga, Sargent, Seven Trees, Sunnyvale (except the westernmost edge), Sunol-Midtown, Sveadal, Zayante


See also

* List of California area codes *
List of North American Numbering Plan area codes The North American Numbering Plan (NANP) divides the territories of its members into geographic numbering plan areas (NPAs). Each NPA is identified by one or more numbering plan area codes (''NPA codes'', or ''area code A telephone numbering plan ...


References


External links

{{Area code box, State=CA , This=408/669 , N= 510/341, 925 , S=
831 __NOTOC__ Year 831 (Roman numerals, DCCCXXXI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Julian calendar. Events By place Abbasid Empire and Byzantine Empire * Byzantine–Arab wars (780–1180)#Period of 780–842, Byzantine–Arab W ...
, E= 209/350 , W= 650 Telecommunications-related introductions in 1959 Telecommunications-related introductions in 2012 408 and 669 408 and 669 Northern California