Cleveland Abbe
In order to compile his information, Abbe required a time-keeping system that was consistent among the stations. To accomplish this he divided the United States into four standard time zones. He published, in 1879, a paper titled "Report on Standard Time". In 1883, he convinced North American railroad companies to adopt his time-zone system. In 1884, Britain, which had already adopted its own standard time system for England, Scotland, and Wales, helped gather international consent for global time. In time, the American government, influenced in part by his 1879 paper, adopted the time-zone system.
North American Numbering Plan
The new numbering plan was officially accepted in October 1947, dividing most of North America into eighty-six numbering plan areas (NPAs). Each NPA was assigned a numbering plan area code, often abbreviated as "area code". These codes were first used by long-distance operators to establish long-distance calls between toll offices. The first customer-dialed direct call using area codes was made on November 10, 1951, from Englewood, New Jersey, to Alameda, California. Direct distance dialing (DDD) was subsequently introduced across the country. By the early 1960s, most areas of the Bell System had been converted and DDD had become commonplace in cities and most larger towns.