Phone dialing changes to take effect in Colcord, Watts, West Maysville

CenturyLink telephone customers must use 10-digit dialing after March 5.

Wednesday, March 2, 2011

— CenturyLink customers in Colcord, Watts and West Maysville, Okla., must soon begin using 10-digit dialing, according to a release from CenturyLink.

Effective March 5, Centurylink customers in Oklahoma who dial local and extended area service calls that were formerly dialed using seven digits must dial using 10 digits (area code plus telephone number).

To complete local and EAS calls, customers must dial both the area code and the number, meaning that even local calls must use the area code together with the number for the calls to be completed.

Customers who formerly dialed seven digitsinto a local Arkansas exchange must now dial 10 digits. For example, customers living in Colcord must dial 479 and the local seven-digit Gentry number to complete the call. Customers living in Gentry may still dial seven digits when dialing into Colcord.

The change is set to begin on March 5. After this date, customers who do not use the new dialing procedure will be instructed by a recording to hang up and dial again.

To ensure a continuing supply of telephone numbers, the 539 area code is being added to the area served by the 918 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 thesame area code.

In addition to changing dialing procedures, all services, automatic dialing equipment or other types of equipment thatare programmed with a seven-digit telephone number will need to be reprogrammed to use the new dialing procedure. These may include life safety systems, fax machines, Internet dial-up numbers, alarm and security systems, gates, speed dialers, mobile phone contact lists, call forwarding settings, voicemail services and similar functions.

Business stationery, advertising materials, personal checks and pet identification tags will also need to be changed, with the area code included.

Customer telephone numbers, including current area code, will not change. The price of a call, coverage area or otherrates and services will not change due to the overlay. What is a local call now will remain a local call regardless of the number of digits dialed, according to the press release.

Customers can still dial just three digits to reach 911, as well as 211, 311, 411, 511, 611, 711 and 811, the release states.

Long distance calls (calls outside the local/ EAS calling area) will still require dialing 1+ area code + telephone number.

More information can be obtained by calling CenturyLink at 1.800.201.4099 for residential customers or 1.800.201.4102 for business customers or by contacting the Oklahoma Corporation Commission at www.occeweb.com.

News, Pages 7 on 03/02/2011