In Russia, all phone numbers start with 8 or +7. If you do not dial these numbers, it will be impossible to get through. Basically, the subscriber dials them without hesitation. But why should these numbers be set? What is the difference between them and is it important to type them?
Telephone history
Only 100 years ago, that is, in the 20th century, in order to call each other, it was necessary to go to the telegraph office and order a call to the operator or, as they used to say, the telephone operator. At best, you had to sit and wait for hours for someone to answer you on the other end of the telephone receiver. At worst, a communication day was appointed. And only on the appointed day and hour, they connected you with the one with whom you wanted to talk. The telephone operator had to first go out to the city or other area where the subscriber was, and only then dial the phone number, if there was one, of course. Otherwise, you had to go to the telephone booth (telegraph) to talk on the ordered phone.
ATC
But over time, automatic telephone exchanges (automatic telephone exchanges) began to connect two subscribers directly, excluding the telephone operator. ATS themselves found the right place with this person. In Russia, telephone exchanges appeared in the 20s of the last century. They were located mainly in large cities. In other states of the world, automatic telephone exchanges appeared a little earlier. In different countries and cities of the world there were more and more of them.
Codes
It was then that the need for telephone codes arose. Since there are a lot of networks, it was much easier to search for them by code. It was then that they began to dial Russia with the number 8. Having dialed a phone number, a person first went to the general telephone network. The code that he dialed in the first digit indicated where on the planet he called. 8 indicated that this is Russia.
The network can be local, that is, within a country or a specific city and world (international). It was for the international network that the plus sign was required in front of the number. Together with the first number 7, he began to indicate the desired country on the planet - Russia.
The importance of the number 7
Over time, advances in telephony have made some changes in the arrangement of numbers. This happened due to the fact that many countries were divided and united, disappeared and appeared. But the international code of Russia - 7 has remained unchanged. Therefore, historically and technically
Why 8
As noted above, 8 appeared in telephone numbers in the USSR. Inside the country, which was huge, each separate republic went under its own code. So, for example, such a large part of the state as Siberia had code 4, the Republic of Kazakhstan - 3, etc. Russia was listed under the number 8. After the collapse of the country, it was decided to leave the code.
Conclusion. Proceeding from the fact that there is no hidden meaning in the telephone codes +7 and 8 of the state of Russia, therefore, if a subscriber calls within the country, then he can dial the first digit of both 8 and 7 in the same way, but outside it only +7.