The change from the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission (PUC) of mandatory ten-digit dialing is set to begin in less than two weeks for residential and business customers within the existing 570 area code.
Beginning Sept. 21, all calls in this area must be made using the area code plus the seven-digit number. If only the seven-digit telephone number is dialed, customers will reach a permanent recorded announcement stating they must hang up and redial the number using the area code plus the seven-digit number.
The plan was approved by the commission July 15, 2010, after consideration of public input and area code relief options. An overlay plan means that once the existing telephone numbers in the 570 area code are exhausted, new telephone services in that geographic region will be assigned telephone numbers out of the new area code, which has been designated as 272.
To ensure a continuing supply of telephone numbers, the new 272 area code has been added to the 570 area code region, which generally covers the northeastern portion of the state and serves communities such as Scranton, Williamsport and Wilkes-Barre.
Beginning Oct. 21, customers in the 570 area code region requesting new service, an additional line or, in some cases, moving their service may be assigned a number in the new 272 area code.
When introducing a new area code, there is an adjustment period commonly known as a permissive dialing period, which commences approximately six months before the new area code becomes effective. During the permissive dialing period, customers may reach numbers in the current area code by either dialing ten or seven digits. At the end of the permissive period, all calls require ten-digit dialing to be completed.