What are Private and Out of Area Calls ?
Each telephone company has an area in which they support Caller ID. The extent of this area varies with each local telephone company. In some cases this may be multiple states, and in other cases only your local area. Private and Out of Area calls are special calls supported by telephone companies. If you receive a call from someone from out of the calling area supported by your telephone company, the Caller ID software will indicate Out of Area. Further identification of the caller is not possible. You can add this number to the Contacts as ‘O’, which is the actual telephone number supplied by the telephone company for Out of Area calls. The telephone company must also provide an option to have the Caller ID information blocked. This is a special service that can apply to all calls made by a Private caller, or on selected calls. If you receive a call from someone what has their Caller ID information blocked, then you will receive only an indication that the caller is Private. Further
Most telephone companies have a calling area they support with regards to caller ID. It may be just local, or it may encompass several states. If you see a call that says “Private” or “Out of Area”, then it is a special call that is supported by your telephone company. The telephone company is also required to allow lines to be completely blocked for privacy. Numbers subscribing to this service will come up “Private”. Further identification of private and out of area calls is not possible.
