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Callers will face 10-digit local dialing in High Point [The High Point Enterprise, N.C. :: ]
[August 20, 2014]

Callers will face 10-digit local dialing in High Point [The High Point Enterprise, N.C. :: ]


(High Point Enterprise (NC) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Aug. 20--TRIAD -- Get ready in the next couple of years to dial an extra three numbers when making a local call.

The N.C. Utilities Commission has announced that all local calls will require dialing the 336 area code within the next two years. In addition, a new area code -- 743 -- will be given to new customers of telecommunications companies as well.



The Utilities Commission, which held a hearing on the issue earlier this year in High Point, will require 10-digit local dialing because of the evaporating number of telephone numbers with the popularity of cell phones and other personal communication devices.

The change will affect the area code overlay area that includes High Point, Winston-Salem, Greensboro, North Wilkesboro and Asheboro.


"Without area code relief, numbering resources for new accounts in the 336 area will be exhausted by the third quarter of 2016," the commission reports.

The Utilities Commission previously approved similar area code overlay relief plans for the Charlotte and Raleigh areas.

"Because an overlay means that the 336 dialing area will have two different area codes, the Federal Communications Commission requires use of 10-digit dialing (area code + 7 digits) for all local calls into, out of, and within the area," according to the commission. "However, there will be no change in the cost to consumers for local calls." Current customers will be able to keep their 336 telephone numbers without change. Telecommunication customers will receive more detailed information, including a time schedule for implementation of 10-digit dialing, in future notices from their local telecommunications provider, according to the commission.

___ (c)2014 The High Point Enterprise (High Point, N.C.) Visit The High Point Enterprise (High Point, N.C.) at www.hpe.com Distributed by MCT Information Services

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