Personal 555 Number Is Still Mostly Fiction

from the but-people-own-them... dept

Many people know that most phone numbers starting with the digits "555" are simply to be used on TV and in movies. However, this NY Times article points out that the FCC let people register their own 555 numbers a few years back, with the idea that they could set up services in every area code (for instance, 555-TAXI across the nation). So, how come you never see any of these numbers? The phone companies have done everything they possibly can to make sure that none of the owners can actually turn the numbers on. Most are just sitting on them. As for the movie and television phone numbers, they were only supposed to use 555-0100 to 555-0199, but most simply ignore that rule and go with whatever 555 number they want.

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