As of this past Sunday, you will be required to dial the area code for all calls. This change is due to the FCC implementation of the new 988 three digit code to reach the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, Star Communications announced in a recent release.
A 10-digit dialed telephone call requires entering both the three-digit area code and the seven-digit telephone number to complete the call, even if the area code is the same area code as your own, said Federal agencies. When an area code transitions to ten-digit dialing, you will no longer be able to dial seven digits to make a local call.
Transitioning to ten-digit dialing will not affect your current telephone number. Your phone number, including your area code, will not change. In California and in Illinois area code 708, you may be required to dial the number “1” before the area code and seven-digit phone number for local calls.
There are 82 area codes in 35 states and one U.S. territory that currently use “988” as their local exchange and allow seven-digit dialing. A local exchange, also known as a central office code, is the first three numbers of a seven-digit telephone number. To prepare for implementation of a quick way to dial the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline – using only “988” to connect callers to the Lifeline — these area codes must transition to ten-digit dialing for all calls, including local calls.
The North American Numbering Plan Administrator has a list of the states and area codes that will be affected. The 910 area code is the only affected one in North Carolina, according to the list.
If you have one of these area codes, you must dial ten digits (area code + telephone number) for all local calls. Local calls dialed with only seven digits may not connect, and a recording will inform you that your call cannot be completed as dialed. You must hang up and dial again using the area code and the seven-digit number.
Ten-digit dialing for local calls has been enabled in these area codes since April 24, 2021.
Why Is Ten-Digit Dialing Necessary?
There are more phones in America than there are people, and each phone needs its own phone number. Beginning in the early 1990s, to accommodate the growing need for more phone numbers, some areas began to add a second area code for local calls. Dialing both the area code and the seven-digit number was necessary to ensure the call reached the intended recipient. As more area codes begin to run out of new seven-digit numbers to assign, a second local area code may be added, requiring that area to transition to ten-digit dialing.
In 2020, the FCC established “988” as the new, nationwide three-digit phone number for the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline. The new three-digit dialing code will be available nationwide by July 16, 2022 and will provide an easy to remember and easy to dial three-digit number to reach suicide prevention and mental health counselors, similar to “911” for emergencies and “311” for local government services. To help facilitate the creation of “988”, area codes that use “988” as a local exchange, or the first three digits of a seven-digit phone number, will need to use 10-digit dialing.
Visit starcom.net for more information.