The number of phone lines in the United States has boomed in numbers in the last decade. Those that have cell phones now outnumber those with landlines, and many of them still have both. When you think about the population of the US, and the number of homes, this means there are a lot of numbers floating around out there. This has had an effect on area codes in larger areas, and has also had an effect on telephone exchanges. If you have a mobile number that is relatively new, you probably have a exchange that did not exist ten years ago.
Where I live, there were three major telephone exchanges at one time. The exchange is the three numbers that immediately follow the area code, and that usually determine the town in which someone lives. My hometown is so small that it only has one for landlines, but there are a few floating around for wireless. Other than the three in my current location for landlines, there are numerous telephone exchanges that I have come across when dealing with cell phone numbers. Not only does this differentiate from the landline, it also helps keep numbers a bit more private.
All of the telephone exchanges for landlines where I live start with the number nine. I'm not sure if that is significant, but it might point to my particular area within an area code. I know the next city over has more telephone exchanges than we do, and they all start with the number seven. Much like with zip codes, there has to be a method to the madness somewhere within the assignment of numbers. When looking at any number, as long as it is a landline, you can get a really good idea as to where it comes from if this is something that you do not know.
Mobile telephone exchanges, however, are a different story all together. I have had two different numbers in the last few years, and they have started with three, but they were not the same. The one my husband has starts with a seven, and he got his service from the same location as I did. To me, that means there may be a collection of telephone exchanges in my area for mobile numbers, but there doesn't seem to be any rhyme or reason to what you get when you get it. It might possibly be a matter of a large array of them for an area, and getting what comes up when you get new service.
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