In a certain country telephone numbers have 9 digits. The first two digits are the area code (03) and are the same within a given area. The last 7 digits are the local number and cannot begin with 0. How many different telephone numbers are possible within a given area code in this country?

The local number has 7 digits where the first digit cannot be 0 (9 choices: 1-9), and the remaining 6 digits can be 0-9 (10 choices each). Total combinations = 9 × 10^6 = 9,000,000. Option B (8,000,000) incorrectly assumes 8 choices for the first digit. Options C and D add arbitrary numbers not justified by the counting principle.