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For Immediate Release: 02/01/17
Audrey Zibelman, Chair
Contact: James Denn | James.Denn@dps.ny.gov | (518) 474-7080
17009/07-C-1486
February 01, 2017
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Mandatory 10-Digit Dialing Begins in February for 315 Area CodeNew 680 Area Code Will Take Effect March 2017 |
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ALBANY — The New York State Public Service Commission (Commission) today announced that beginning February 11, 2017, residential, business and wireless consumers within the existing 315 area code in central New York will have to dial 10 digits when making a telephone call. The additional dialing is required as a result of the introduction of the new 680 area code which will take effect in March.
The creation of the new 680 area code allows telephone companies to accommodate the increasing need for telephone numbers in central New York, and also accommodates future telephone number demand, the results of a thriving telecommunications market in central New York.
To ensure a continuing supply of telephone numbers in the west-central portion of New York, the Commission in mid-2015 approved an area code overlay for the area served by 315. The new area code will be superimposed over the same geographical area as the 315 area code. The 315 area code is located within all or part of 18 counties in central New York, including: Cayuga, Chenango, Cortland, Fulton, Hamilton, Herkimer, Jefferson, Lewis, Madison, Oneida, Onondaga, Ontario, Oswego, Otsego, St. Lawrence, Seneca, Wayne, and Yates.
The area code overlay requires consumers to dial 10 digits (area code + 7 digit local telephone number) in the 315/680 area or 1+10 digits for calls to other area code regions. To allow consumers time to adjust to the new dialing pattern, a permissive dialing period has been in place since March 12, 2016. However, beginning February 11, 2017, the mandatory dialing period begins, when all calls within and between 315/680 must be placed using the 10-digit telephone number (315 or 680 plus the 7-digit local telephone number). Under both the permissive and mandatory dialing schemes, calls to other area codes must still be dialed as 1+ 10 digits.
Important facts that consumers and businesses need to know about the upcoming 680 area code overlay are:
Customers should identify their telephone number as a ten-digit number (area code + 7-digit local telephone number) when giving the number to friends, family, business associates and business customers, etc.
Customers should ensure that all services, automatic dialing equipment, applications, software, or other types of equipment recognize the new 680 area code as a valid area code. Some examples are: 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 personal or pet ID tags should include the area code. All calls within the 315/680 area must be programmed to dial using 10-digits and the digit prefix “1” must be included for all calls to other area codes.
The Commission’s decision in this proceeding, may be obtained by going to the Commission Documents section of the Commission’s Web site at www.dps.ny.gov and entering Case Number 07-C-1486 in the input box labeled "Search by Case Number". Many libraries offer free Internet access. Commission documents may also be obtained from the Commission’s Files Office, 14th floor, Three Empire State Plaza, Albany, NY 12223 (518-474-2500). If you have difficulty understanding English, please call us at 1-800-342-3377 for free language assistance services regarding this press release. For more information, you may also visit your service provider’s website.
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