This is stupid! Do what they do in europe, cell phones have a different area code then land lines... if calling a cell phone from a land you dial the area code, and visa versa. Other wise you don't need to. Then the area codes are not all mixed up or "overlayed" as they call it, which is just a fancy word for messed up!

Thanks, Anonymous, but your suggestion is a little late. Maybe if you'd have talked to the PSC 5 years ago, that would have helped.

The whole point of the overlay is so that nobody has to change their existing phone number. A geographic split means that everyone in certain counties has to change their area code. A mobile/home split means that everyone with a mobile phone has to change their area code. What about number portability? If I port my home number to a mobile, would I be allowed to keep the area code?

When it comes down to it, it probably doesn't matter all that much. When we 435-ers split off in 1997, we were able to figure it out, even though we're so rural. You city-slickers will be able to figure it out.

What we should be talking about is long distance. The whole structure of area codes/phone numbers based on geography is no longer accurate. I find it hard to believe a long distance call actually costs the phone company any more than a local call anymore. Let's investigate that, rather than wasting time complaining about area codes.