Can't phone my phone from home

[Bobbob]

I got my sim card last weekend.  When I try to phone my Public cell phone from my home land line, I get the message "We're sorry the number you have called cannot be completed as dialed".

This is concerning.  I don't have a lot of faith that everybody has access to phone me if I can't get my cell phone from my home land line.  My home service is Telus.  I am phoning a 778 area code from a 604 area code.  It is not long distance.  Some people have no trouble phoning me.

How can I resolve this?

[AE_Collector]

@Korth 

I think you are referring to government office land lines, centrex lines or PBX lines so these could also easily be different than the typical local calling areas. I have worked on lots of PBX systems and Centrex Lines used extensively by government and banks where seamless dialling to other sometimes far flung offices is part of the system.

AE_Collector

[Korth]

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@CannonFodder wrote:

I too have a 778 phone number, using an Abbotsford prefix, such that people living in Maple Ridge, BC, using a landline, would have to dial long distance to reach me.

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I've made a lot of calls across GVRD and FVRD landlines over the years.

Vancouver to Abbotsford, local. Vancouver to Langley, long distance. Surrey to Abbotsford, long distance.

Langley to Abbotsford, local. Abbotsford to Langley, long distance. Abbotsford to Surrey, local.

Chilliwack to Abbotsford, local. Abbotsford to Chilliwack, long distance. Abbotsford to Hope, local.

I never could map out the relevant area boundaries and calling conditions, long distance charges persisted between specific numbers but otherwise seemed random.

And apparently maps for local calling areas or switch zone boundaries (or whatever they're called) aren't public domain - they're sensitive proprietary info - even though they're arbitrary relics from half-obsolete phone systems (and phone business) of past eras.

[Korth]

@AE_Collector 

Er, yes... I did mean long distance toll prefix (1), not international dialing prefix (011 to Canada/USA/NANP).

I still don't fully understand why +1 instead of 1. But it just works consistently and keeps dialing software in line.

Apologies for my insensitive comment about being trapped in a phone museum ... I, uh, didn't know.

[CannonFodder]

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@gblackma wrote:

@CannonFodder ,  @AE_Collector 's, "The phone collector"

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I'm aware - we've somewhat discussed his hoardi.... er.... obsessi..... uhm.... his fine collection of telephony hardware before! 😉  🤣 

[gblackma]

@CannonFodder ,  @AE_Collector 's, "The phone collector"

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@AE_Collector wrote:

Yeah this one I just happened to have a picture of, not one I have restored to sell. Handset cord needs to be replaced, number card in dial etc. These actually use the speaker to generate an electronic warble on incoming calls. Way ahead of their time for a 1960 phone! Here's some better examples. (I can see the Lounge in my future if I post any more!)

AE_Collector

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[CannonFodder]

@AE_Collector  Geez, you got it BAD! 😉  And yeah, it's lookin' like the dark abysss, otherwise known as "The Lounge" for you!

[AE_Collector]

Yeah this one I just happened to have a picture of, not one I have restored to sell. Handset cord needs to be replaced, number card in dial etc. These actually use the speaker to generate an electronic warble on incoming calls. Way ahead of their time for a 1960 phone! Here's some better examples. (I can see the Lounge in my future if I post any more!)

AE_Collector

[Anonymous]

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@AE_Collector wrote:

@Korth 

Good advice though I think you mean always dialing the Long Distance Prefix "1", not the "International Prefix 011" on your rotary phone that is... what colour would you like? How about an Automatic Electric 880 Speakerphone!

AE_Collector

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Where's the little centre cap of the dial? 🙂

What a beauty. Built like a tank I'm sure. Not like the flimsy cheap crap nowadays. Analogue bell? 

[AE_Collector]

@Korth 

Good advice though I think you mean always dialing the Long Distance Prefix "1", not the "International Prefix 011" on your rotary phone that is... what colour would you like? How about an Automatic Electric 880 Speakerphone!

AE_Collector

[Korth]

Using the international dialing prefix is good practice - including it won't break anything but excluding it may prevent calls from making past local phone exchanges. An international dialing prefix seems to almost always be necessary if the source or destination numbers aren't local (ported numbers which were originally issued in another province or by another operator/network, etc), even if they're calling each other locally. It affects all Canadian telephony, it's not a problem specific to Public Mobile or Telus.

Telephony is all digital these days, in your pocket and across the network, so you may need to dial +1 (instead of just 1) for International Canada & USA, it's just the "official" designation software tends to prefer. Weird and maybe stupid, but it just is what it is. And not really much hassle in this age of one-click contact calling, unless you somehow find yourself forced to dial out from a rotary phone while trapped in a museum without cell service.

https://www.fastcompany.com/47557/dial-1-no-good-reason

[CannonFodder]

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@AE_Collector wrote:

That is the usual message you would get on your landline if calling a long distance number without dialling 1 first. Just because 604 and 778 have been around for quite awhile doesnt meant that both numbers are in the same local calling area.

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@Bobbob  I think @AE_Collector  has hit the nail on the head..... I too have a 778 phone number, using an Abbotsford prefix, such that people living in Maple Ridge, BC, using a landline, would have to dial long distance to reach me.

[AE_Collector]

That is the usual message you would get on your landline if calling a long distance number without dialling 1 first. Just because 604 and 778 have been around for quite awhile doesnt meant that both numbers are in the same local calling area. Is the PM cell phone a number you picked from the list when activating or is it a number youmported from another carrier? Give us the NNX as well, IE: 604 NNX and 778 NNX.

AE_Collector

[Staliger]

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@Bobbob wrote:

I got my sim card last weekend.  When I try to phone my Public cell phone from my home land line, I get the message "We're sorry the number you have called cannot be completed as dialed".

This is concerning.  I don't have a lot of faith that everybody has access to phone me if I can't get my cell phone from my home land line.  My home service is Telus.  I am phoning a 778 area code from a 604 area code.  It is not long distance.  Some people have no trouble phoning me.

How can I resolve this?

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@Bobbob That's strange. Both codes are pretty old and should work fine. Ask mods to restart your account. Click the "?" in lower right side of the page, type "contact moderator", and follow directions OR send a message: https://productioncommunity.publicmobile.ca/t5/notes/composepage/note-to-user-id/22437

[gblackma]

@Bobbob can you receive texts? Is your home phone the only one that you can't get calls from?

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@Bobbob wrote:

I got my sim card last weekend.  When I try to phone my Public cell phone from my home land line, I get the message "We're sorry the number you have called cannot be completed as dialed".

This is concerning.  I don't have a lot of faith that everybody has access to phone me if I can't get my cell phone from my home land line.  My home service is Telus.  I am phoning a 778 area code from a 604 area code.  It is not long distance.  Some people have no trouble phoning me.

How can I resolve this?

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