Volume 2. No 3 Information Technology News of the University of California, Davis Spring 1994

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New Dialing Procedures Coming June 1994
Dial 9+1 When Calling Out of the Area Code

by Steve Chafe, Communications Resources

Beginning June 20, 1994, new dialing procedures will go into effect for calls dialed from campus and Research Park telephones. To accommodate the new North American Numbering Plan, it will become necessary to add a "1" when calling another area code - for example, 9+1+510-555-1212. Calls within the area code, as well as international calls, will continue to be dialed with just "9." Similarly, campus callers who use "5" for authorization code dialing will need to use "5+1" when calling another area code.

Operator-assisted and calling card calls will need to be dialed using the area code, even when calling within the 916 area code. For example, to dial a Sacramento number like 440-xxxx using a calling card, callers will need to dial 9+0+916+440-xxxx.

The new dialing scheme is necessary because the area codes in North America are being used up by the rapid growth of such services as paging and cellular phones. Electromechanical telephone systems of the past required that area codes contain only a zero or a one as their middle digit, which along with other factors made only about 150 area codes available. Starting in 1995, however, area codes will be able to have zero through nine as their middle digit, making available 640 more area codes.

The first of the new area codes is expected to be 334, opening in Alabama around January 1995. Since this code is also a prefix in Sacramento, callers must add a "1" if they need to reach Alabama:

9+1+334+seven digits: call is routed to Alabama 9+334+four digits: call is routed to Sacramento

Watch for more details from Communications Resources in the coming weeks. For now, please continue to dial only a "9" before all calls outside of the campus or Research Park.

Note to Centrex users: If your telephone number is in the range 757-3000 to 757-3999, your line is part of a Centrex group served by Pacific Bell. For these lines, the new dialing methods are already in effect along with the current methods. After October 10, 1994, only the new dialing plan will be in effect.