U.S. Census Bureau Daily Feature for November 9

WASHINGTON, Nov. 9, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Following is the daily "Profile America" feature from the U.S. Census Bureau:

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20110428/DC91889LOGO)

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 9: AREA CODES' 60TH ANNIVERSARY

Profile America — Wednesday, November 9th.  A key part of daily life is 60 years old this week, when telephone area codes were introduced in 1951.  The mayor of Englewood, New Jersey, made the first official call, picking up the phone and directly dialing his counterpart in Alameda, California.  At the time, all long distance calls went through an operator.  To begin with, there were 86 exchanges, but the explosion in faxes, modems, and cell phones means the U.S. is fast running out of 10-digit phone numbers.  The average residential customer pays $434 annually for their home telephone service and $1,712 for cell phone usage.  You can find these and more facts about America from the U.S. Census Bureau, online at www.census.gov.

Sources:  Chase's Calendar of Events 2011, p. 553

Statistical Abstract of the United States 2012, t. 1148

Profile America is produced by the Public Information Office of the U.S. Census Bureau. These daily features are available as produced segments, ready to air, on a monthly CD or on the Internet at http://www.census.gov (look for “Multimedia Gallery” by the “Newsroom” button).  

SOURCE U.S. Census Bureau