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Consumer forum Technical service details Area code 778 question

Area code 778 question
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2:15 pm
November 30, 2011


Dhertz

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Hello all, multi-part question here.

I've been reading through the forums last night and today and have decided, based exclusively on what you've all been writing, to pick up an SO phone tomorrow. I live just north of Victoria and although the area code at my home is 250, it's inescapable just how invaluable the 778 area code would be (with respect to province-wide local calling).

-When I go into the store tomorrow, is there any way that I can specifically request a 778 number, or is it just luck of the draw?

-If I can't, and I end up getting a 250 number, has it generally been the experience of most of you that CS will switch it with no charge? I understand that this is a free service when one has moved, but due to 778 being an overlay code, there is no geographical difference.

-Whether or not I have to pay for the change, when I am assigned a new number with the 778 area code, is there any guarantee that it will have a corresponding Victoria prefix? As you all know, 778 covers Vancouver as well, and it wouldn't work with respect to (Victoria) people calling me having to pay LD every time.

Incidentally, given this province-wide local calling, why would anyone want either a 250 or a 604 area code? I've seen quite a few instances on these boards where people are wanting to get rid of their 778! Is some there disadvantage that I'm not aware of? I've just moved to BC so perhaps it's something similar to Torontonians traditionally preferring 416 over 647…

Thanks in advance for your help.

6:15 pm
November 30, 2011


bridonca

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I think it has something to do with people from other telcos not being able to call a 778 number as a local call. At least not yet.

I think you are going to get a 778 number for some reason, but ask the Speakout CSR to make sure. Not sure if you will get help though.

7:23 pm
November 30, 2011


Dhertz

Member

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Thanks for the reply – that's reassuring about the number.

About others not being able to call 778 as a local call, is this a problem with SO in particular, or the area code in general?

7:57 pm
November 30, 2011


bridonca

Moderator

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It is the area code in particular that is not treated as a local call to some carriers.

8:32 pm
November 30, 2011


Dhertz

Member

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I'll take my chances…it's worth it for the enormous local calling area!

Thanks again for the help.

7:01 pm
December 9, 2011


RonM

Victoria BC

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How did you make out?

For calls to a Speakout phone, the caller will be restricted by the old Telus long distance boundaries. So if you want a Speakout phone to be local for people to call you, you have to specify where you will use the phone with Speakout. I have had good luck getting them to reassign numbers at no charge when people moved. In simple terms if you are activating a Speakout phone based in Victoria, it can get either a 250 or 778 number totally by the luck of the draw since there are Telus landline phones in both groups. The 778 numbers will be from the group assigned to Victoria — not Kelowna or Vancouver. If you are activating a Speakout phone in Kelowna, it will be the luck of the draw whether you get a 778 or 250 area code but it will be a Kelowna based number. In the lower mainland the random assignments will be from 604 or 788 — again appropriate for the region.

The number your SpeakOut phone gets has to be "local" somewhere for incoming calls. That only affects the people who call you. If you have a local 778 Victoria number on your Speakout phone, only people in the Victoria area can call you as a local call. Folks with a 778 or for that matter 604 number in Vancouver will pay long distance to call you. Same for people with a 250 or 778 number in Kelowna.

Incoming calls to you SpeakOut phone don't care where the call originated — be it somewhere in BC or elsewhere in the world. You pay the "local" 25 cent per minute rate to answer the call.

Outgoing calls from your SpeakOut phone is where it gets a bit blurry. If you have a SpeakOut 250 number, all of 250 and 778 are treated as local calls. 604 is long distance. If you have a SpeakOut 604 number, all calls to 604 and 778 numbers are treated as local calls, 250 is long distance. If you are lucky and get a 778 number, all 3 area codes are treated as local. I tried as recently as last week to get a SpeakOut CSR to give me 778 numbers for Victoria while helping friends activate their phones. The CSR said she had no way of knowing what number would come up when she asked the system to provide them. Fortunately for my friends they got 778 area codes for both phones out of the random assignment process.
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