Much of what is covered below pertains to your cellular or home services as well. The Carrier companies are mandating a change to our dialing area that incorporates the 10-digit dialing plan that many other areas across the country have been experiencing for many years. Remember to update all of your contact lists.
New Dialing Procedures for Placing Local Calls
The local carrier is mandating:
Beginning Saturday, February 8, 2020, you will be required to dial the area code + the telephone number when placing local calls. This means all calls in the 937 area code that are currently dialed with seven digits will need to be dialed using the area code. The same dialing procedure will apply to phone numbers assigned to the new 326 area code.
All customers can begin using the new dialing procedures before February 8.
Here on campus we have already created this capability so that you can begin the new dial plan now.
Why is This Change Necessary?
To ensure a continuing supply of telephone numbers, the 326 area code is being added to the area served by the 937 area code. Since two area codes will now serve the same geographic region, the area code must be used when dialing any telephone number; including calls within the same area code.
What Actions Do I Need to Take?
In addition to changing your dialing procedures, all services, automatic dialing equipment, or other types of equipment that are programmed to dial a 7-digit number will need to be reprogrammed to use the new dialing procedures. Some examples are life safety systems, PBXs, fax machines, internet dial-up numbers, alarm and security systems or gates, speed dialers, call forwarding settings, voicemail services for your personal devices, etc.
What Will Remain the Same?
- Your phone number, including area code
- The price of a call, coverage area, or other rates and services
- You can still dial just three digits to reach 911
- When dialing a number with a 937 or 326 area code from a campus phone, you will still need to enter 9 before entering the 10-digit phone number (ex. 9-937-XXX-XXXX). This will prevent a long distance fee from being incurred. If you are making long distance calls, you will need to enter 9-1 before entering the 10-digit phone number (ex. 9-1-513-XXX-XXXX)
