New Dialing

From Verizon:

“Mandatory 10-Digit Dialing Becomes Effective on October 24, 2021 for Multiple States/Area Codes”

988 Becomes Available Nationwide on July 16, 2022

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has adopted 988 as a new 3-digit number to be used nationwide to reach the National Suicide Prevention and Mental Health Crisis Lifeline, starting July 16, 2022.

Wireless customers may dial either 988 or 1-800-273-TALK (8255) to reach the Lifeline now.

Landline customers must continue to dial 1-800-273-TALK (8255) to reach the Lifeline until July 16, 2022.

For 988 to work for everyone in the below list of area codes, 10-digit local dialing (or 1+10-digit dialing for wireline customers in the area codes below with an asterisk) must be implemented. If your area code is included in the list below, you will need to change the way you dial local calls.

 

State                      Area Codes                 

Alabama           251                                 

 Minnesota       218, 952

Alaska               907                 

Mississippi       662

Arizona            480, 520, 928              

Missouri           314, 417, 660, 816

Arkansas          501                                 

Montana           406

California          209*, 530*, 562*, 626*, 650*, 707*, 925*, 949*, 951*             

Nevada               775

Colorado            719, 970        

New Hampshire      603

Delaware               302 

New Jersey          856, 908

Florida               321 (Brevard County), 352, 561, 941 

New Mexico      505, 575

Georgia              478, 912        

New York        516, 607, 716, 845, 914

Guam               671 

North Carolina      910

Hawaii              808  

Ohio                 440, 513

Illinois              309, 618, 708*           

South Dakota     605

Indiana              219, 574        

Tennessee          731, 865

Iowa                   319, 515         

Texas               254, 361, 409, 806, 830, 915, 940

Kansas             620, 785        

Vermont           802

Kentucky        859 

Virginia           276, 804

Louisiana       337, 504        

Washington    509

Michigan       616, 810, 906, 989    

Wisconsin    262, 414, 608, 920

* 1 + 10-digit dialing is required for landline customers.                

 

What will be the new dialing procedure? To complete all local calls, you will now need to dial either the area code + telephone number or 1 + area code + telephone number (see above). This applies to all calls within your area code that are currently dialed with seven digits.

Who will be affected? Anyone with a telephone number from the area codes listed above will need to make this change from 7-digit local dialing to 10-digit local dialing (or 1+10-digit local dialing as noted above).

When will the dialing change begin? Beginning April 24, 2021, you should begin dialing the area code + telephone number for all local calls, including calls within the same area code. If you forget and dial just 7 digits, your call will still be completed.

Beginning October 24, 2021, you must dial the area code + telephone number (or 1 + the area code + telephone number as applicable) for all local calls. On and after this date, local calls dialed with only 7 digits may not be completed, and a recording will inform you that your call cannot be completed as dialed. If you get this recording, you must hang up and dial again using the area code and the 7-digit number.

Beginning July 16, 2022, dialing “988” will route your call to the National Suicide Prevention and Mental Health Crisis Lifeline.

What will you need to do? In addition to changing the way you dial local calls, all services, automatic dialing equipment, or other types of equipment that are programmed to complete calls to 7-digit local numbers will need to be reprogrammed to complete calls to 10-digit (or 1+10-digit) numbers, including the area code. Some examples are: life safety systems and medical monitoring devices, PBXs, fax machines, Internet dial-up numbers, fire or burglar alarm systems, other security systems or gates, speed dialers, mobile or other wireless phone contact lists, call forwarding settings, voicemail services, and other similar functions. Be sure to check your website, personal and business stationery, advertising materials, personal and business checks, contact information, your personal or pet ID tags, and other such items to ensure the area code is included.

What will remain the same? Your telephone number, including current area code, will not change. The price of a call, coverage area, or other rates and services will not change due to this dialing change.  What is a local call now will remain a local call regardless of the number of digits dialed. You will continue to dial 1 + area code + telephone number for all long distance calls. You can still dial just three digits to reach 911 (emergency services) and 711 (relay services), as well as 211, 311, 411, 511, 611, or 811 where those services are available in your community. The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline can still be reached by dialing 1-800-273-TALK (8255).

Will you be able to dial 988 without a prefix from a multi-line telephone system? No, you still will need to dial a prefix first when dialing 988 from a multi-line telephone system, where a prefix is required (for example, dialing 9 first from a hotel or office building multi-line telephone system).

Can you still dial 1-800-273-TALK to reach the National Suicide Prevention and Mental Health Crisis Lifeline? Yes, you can dial 1-800-273-TALK (8255) to reach the Lifeline now (wireless customers can dial 988 now too). Starting July 16, 2022, everyone can dial either 988 or 1-800-273-TALK to reach the Lifeline.

^ This is a pretty big change and yet it is not being that widely-publicized. ^

https://www.verizon.com/support/residential/homephone/area-international-info/ten-digit-dialing