In the days of unlimited nationwide call & text plans it is easy to forget the old days of long distance call fees. Unfortunately building intercoms are stuck in these old days because - well not sure why, maybe because they are just that old?!

Most people know about the so called area code, that is the first 3 digits of their phone number. The official name is Numbering Area Plan (NPA) code. E.g. 604 is the original Vancouver area code, assigned in 1947. While back then the area code was used in the whole province, it was split in 1997 into 604 and 250 which then also wasn't enough and 236 was added in 2013 and 672 in 2019. That leaves us now with so called overlay area codes of 236/604/672/778.

Unfortunately having the same area code doesn't mean the call will be classified as local call. But luckily there is also local calling between different area codes as some are exhausted and it is almost impossible to get phone numbers in specific area codes.

In order to determine local calling we also need the next 3 digits, called central office code or exchange code (NXX). Using the NPA-NXX, e.g. 778-200 we can determine the exact exchange and look up all other exchanges - and their NPA-NXX - that are considered to be within the local calling boundaries.

If all that sounds way to complicated (because it is), you can simply ask FreshBuzzer to find available phone numbers within local calling of a specific phone number. Head over to our local number search and enter your building's phone number, aka caller ID, and you should get guaranteed local phone numbers!

However, if you are moving to a new building and don't know their phone number yet, you can also use the location based search which shows phone number within local proximity of your building based on your postal code.

Should you encounter any issues with your phone number or still need any kind of help, send a quick message and we'll get you sorted.