These seven digit numbers (beginning with '555') were removed from reserve (having previously been used as 'fictitious' numbers in movies and television programs) and allocated to parties wanting to publish a single local number across a variety of jurisdicitons.

To 'roll out' such a number on a national basis or to implement such a number on a local basis requires the cooperation of a local exchange carrier to terminate and route the number(s). '555' Numers are just one of the seven-digit offerings made by Verison in the Mid-Atlantic region. They call this "Easy Number" service......

Easy Number allows businesses and individuals to publish the same 7-digit number, installed in more than one LATA, for callers to reach them without having to pay long distance fees or dial extra digits. Exact details are published in the tariff which has been filed for all old Bell Atlantic LATAs (PA, NJ, MD, VA. WV, DC). The service is currently available for sale in most of these states from your Bell Atlantic representative or agent, but marketing will not officially begin until this summer. Rollout is limited only by the provisioning and conversion of Bell Atlantic facilities for AIN (Advanced Intelligent Network), required to operate the service. Testing of a Zip+4 call routing option is scheduled for this October. Here is a summary of the offering:

Uses NNX or prefix 554 in NJ, 936 all other areas. Receiver charged on a per call basis. Per call rates range from 4¢ to 11¢ based upon term plan and volume.

Uses 555' NNX. Receiver charged on a minutes of use basis. Rates range from 5¢ per minute to 2¢ per minute, based upon term plan and volume.

Offers the ability to bill the caller up to $5 per call. There is a $75 /mo. Per LATA recurring charge plus 2¢ to 5¢ per call, depending upon term plan and volume. Payments will be made periodically with a 25% reserve, adjusted according to actual refund rates.

In summary, the service can be operated as a regional toll free service or a regional pay-per-call service, using the prefixes 936,554,555. ( 555' numbers have already been assigned by BellCore, the other two are available on a first come first served basis from Bell Atlantic.) The installation fees are steep ($1,600 for 936'/ 554' and $2,500 for 555' plus $225 per jurisdiction or LATA for both plans) but the good news is that you pay your assigned carrier the regular rate for as many terminating lines as you need, and the Easy Number service is pointed at the host number(s) via their translation table. All services include a 1› per call query (database lookup fee) whether connected or not. Calls longer than 10 minutes will result in a $4.00 surcharge to the subscriber (sponsor). Easy Number may be introduced into the new Bell Atlantic areas (formerly NYNEX) by the end of the year 2000. It is highly unlikely that Bell Atlantic will seek to offer the pay-per-call option for either numbering plan in the New York and New England territories. Individual callers who have elected to block access to pay-per-call services will be automatically blocked from access to a 936, 554, and 555 numbers for which there is a pay-per-call charge, while allowing free calls to be connected. (Easy Number service will use AIN to access the same Line Information Database [LIDB] which stores each telephone subscriber s choice regarding pay-per-call blocking.)

The North American Numbering Plan

Bell Atlantic MD tariff, 9 pages