SULLIVAN COUNTY – Where’s Lily Tomlin when you need her?

Tomlin, who starred in the ‘60s and ‘70s comedy television program “Laugh-In” as the eccentric telephone operator Ernestine, would need more than “One ringy dingy” to get your call through beginning this Sunday, October 24.

Because that’s when mandatory area code dialing goes into effect for all local calls in five New York State area codes – 845, 914, 607, 716 and 516.

If you have one of these area codes – which Sullivan County does – beginning on Sunday, October 24, you must dial ten digits (area code + telephone number) for all local calls.

On and after this date, 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.

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.

Upcoming Transitions to Ten-Digit Dialing:

Where and When?

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.

What Changes Will

Businesses Need to Make?

If your company uses a PBX or VoIP phone system, you may need to update or reprogram it for ten-digit dialing.

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.