The numbers game

Re “747 to join 818 as Valley area code,” April 25

After the new 747 area code arrives, everyone in the San Fernando Valley will have to dial 11 digits to make a local call, as do most L.A. residents already.

Is it that difficult to develop technology requiring only seven digits be dialed for calls within the same area code? Why don’t the phone companies do it?

Jeff Vaughn

Encino

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The overlay of a new area code, 747, over the 818 area code is no big deal.

Everyone who uses a cellphone has all of his frequently called numbers in memory anyway, so there is no change there. Most land-line phones today also have either 10 or 20 memory slots. If you do a lot of calling to 818 or 747 numbers, you should sacrifice two of your memory slots for 1-818 and 1-747. Then you could make your calls with eight pushes of a key instead of seven as you do now. So tell me again, what is the big complaint?

Sinclair Buckstaff

Northridge

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That we are running out of numbers is the claim and justification for adding yet another area code. The truth is that those in charge have run out of brains.

The easy fix -- and we will have 10 times more numbers available per area code by doing this -- is to nationally make our numbers eight digits instead of seven. Just add a zero to all existing numbers. Simple, effective and easy to remember, but not political.

Steven Bein

Los Angeles