Yes, I kept my phone number
My cell phone number has the area code 650. I got this number when I bought my first cell phone in California in 1998. I went down to the Sprint store on University Avenue in Palo Alto and I purchased a big brick of a cell phone (remember, this was 1998 when cell phones resembled those old car phones from early 80s movies). Living in Silicon Valley, it made a lot of sense to have a phone number with area code 650.In 2001, I moved to North Carolina. I kept my phone, and I kept my phone number. A few years later, I moved up to Boston. This time I purchased a new cell phone, but I kept my number. By this point, I was a long-time customer of Sprint, and had a great cell phone plan. Over the next few years, I went through a few more cell phones, and always kept my number.
For my birthday this year, I took the plunge and bought an iPhone. After 10 years with Sprint, I switched to AT&T (iPhone’s only work on AT&T). I’m really happy with my new iPhone — it’s a great product. Thanks to cell phone number portability legislation, I was able to keep my 650 area code cell phone.
So what’s the point of this post? Just again this morning I was on the phone with a reporter from Silicon Valley. He knows that we are a Boston-based company, and asked me quizically about my cell phone number.
Reporter: “Do you still live in Boston? I called a 650 number.”
Matt: “Yes, I’m in Boston. I’ve had my cell phone number for years. There’s no reason to switch. Long distance is the same everywhere, and everyone knows my number.”
Can we all just agree that your cell phone area code is no longer a good indication of where you currently live? It’s just an indicator of where you purchased your first cell phone.
