.

HERE'S THE HEADLINE:
EFFECTIVE JULY 1, 1998 MANDATORY 7 DIGIT PIC (CIC) CODE DIALING WILL BE IMPLEMENTED.

What did this really mean to your business? It means you will probably had to pay somebody to re-program all of your phone systems, PBX's, least cost routing (LCR) features and other telephone equipment.

Each long distance carrier has a unique identification number currently known as a10-XXX number (10 followed by that network's 3 digit access code).

FIRST, JUST WHAT IS "10XXX" DIALING AND NOW 10-10-XXX
 A PIC code is an acronym for Primary intraLata Carrier (PIC) Code. OK, that's better, now on with the 10-10XXX discussion.

The way this works is that this code accompanies each number you dial from a phone and is then routed by the Local Exchange Carrier (LEC - i.e., your local Bell company) and provides information on the number called and on the carrier. Most telephones uses do not need to dial 10-10-XXX for the long distance company that you have chosen to use, because it is programmed by the LEC to automatically attach itself to the number being called.

In example, if your carrier is Sprint, their code is 10-10333, and you dial 760 944-6200, the 10-10333 will tell the call to route over the Sprint network and provide an identification for the LEC to bill the appropriate carrier. Again, you don't have to dial the 10-10333 PIC code as this is automatically done for you by the LEC. If you are a Sprint customer and want to place a call over, say MCI, you would now have to dial 10-10222 1 760 944-6200 (Notice you dial the 1 before the area code, even in your call is going to the same area code), to force the call off of the Sprint network and onto the MCI network. The same holds true for AT&T or WorldCom, or the other major carriers.

NOW WHY WOULD YOU EVER WANT TO USE A DIFFERENT PIC CODE, EXCEPT FOR THE ONE YOU HAVE FOR YOUR LONG DISTANCE CARRIER? (Ever hear of least cost routing (LCR)?) You can have multiple carriers approved for an individual line(s) and by knowing the rates associated with each, you can have your phone system dial the PIC code that has the least expensive rate. In example, assume MCI has a 9 cent US rate and a 7 cent State rate, while Sprint has a 10 cent US rate with a 6 cent state rate. You would direct interstate calls with MCI and State over the Sprint network. By the way, if you have a dialer, a PBX with LCR or even if you dial-around your carrier, you will start having to have 7 digits, instead of 5. And this should have been completed prior to June 30, 1998, because as of July 1, 1998 your 5 digit PIC or CIC code did not work.

Our long distance company can show you how to do this to not only save money on interstate and intrastate calls, but on your local (LATA) calls. A good example would be an escrow company or bank making a lot of calls within the area code they are located and wanting to reduce phone call costs. This is accomplished by bypassing (that will give your local carrier a heart attack) the calls that would normally go over your local carrier and redirecting to your long distance carrier; assuming, which is usually true, that your long distance carrier is more cost effective for some calls carried by your local carrier. and I can show you how to do this to not only save money on interstate and intrastate calls, but on your local (LATA) calls. A good example would be an escrow company or bank making a lot of calls within the area code they are located and wanting to reduce phone call costs.

OK, OK! SO WHERE DOES ALL THIS LEAD US?

WELL, WHAT WERE ONCE 5 DIGIT PIC CODES, NOW ARE 7 DIGIT PIC CODES. The FCC was pretty innovative about how they handled this; they simply put another 10 in front of the existing 10-XXX PIC code, so a company like LCI was once 10432 and now is 10-10432.

The nomenclature is varied but can be referred to as: 10XXX, pronounced "ten triple 'ecks". Anyways, here is the update list of carriers with their new PIC codes. Now folks, we believe this list to be accurate, but we reserve the right to make a mistake or two. So if in doubt, simply call your carrier and ask what their PIC or CIC code is.

So what are the new numbers? Click here for our list of 10-10XXX carrier codes.

While you are here, why not check the discount long distance rates for your state?

Thank you.