By VERNON ROBISON
Moapa Valley Progress
Some folks in Moapa Valley can remember not too long ago when they only had to dial five numbers to make a local telephone call. Nowadays it is seven numbers. But by this time next year Moapa Valley residents, as well as telephone customers all across southern Nevada, will be required to enter all ten digits to call their neighbor down the street.
Last fall the Public Utilities Commission of Nevada approved a second area code for the region because available prefixes in the existing 702 area code are expected to be exhausted by 2014.
The new area code will be issued in an overlaying setup. This means that existing phone numbers will stay the same. But new customers across a broad region; from Indian Springs in the northwest, to Mesquite in the northeast, to Laughlin in the far south and everything in between; will be receiving the new 725 area code.
“At that point, when a telephone provider needs to order another block of telephone numbers, it will probably come with the new area code,” said Brad Lyon of the Moapa Valley Telephone Company (MVT).
An overlaying area code may mean that a new next-door neighbor will have a 725 area code while yours remains 702. That means that all local calls will require using an area code, or making a full ten-digit call. The only difference between that and a traditional long-distance call is that you won’t be required to dial a “1” first.
It is also important to note that even though local calls will be made with ten digits, customers won’t be charged extra for these calls like they would with long distance calls.
Lyon said that he has been busy lately making programming changes to the Moapa Valley Telephone system to prepare for the new area code, which is starting its transition process in the next few weeks and expected to be fully implemented by next summer.
Effective next month, on August 3, telephone providers are required to have the changes in place to allow customers to dial ten digits for local calls. At that point, the ten-digit routine will be optional to customers.
“If you forget and dial just seven digits, your call will still go through,” Lyon said.
But MVT officials recommend that customers begin getting used to the new format as soon as possible. Because on May 3, 2014, the ten digit dialing procedure will become mandatory. At that point, calls made by dialing only seven digits will not go through anymore. Instead, customers will receive a recording instructing them to hang up and dial again with ten digits.
Finally on June 3, 2014, the new 725 area code will begin being assigned to new telephone customers throughout the region.
Other than establishing the new habit of dialing ten numbers instead of seven, there are a few other changes that local customers should remember to make to accomodate the new area code. Services like automatic dialing equipment, and other types of equipment that are programmed with a 7-digit number will need to be reprogrammed to include the area code. These might include cell phone contact lists, internet dial-up numbers, fax machines, life safety systems, PBXs, alarm and security systems, gates, speed dialers, call forwarding settings, voicemail services, etc.
Businesses may experience some additional expenses as they may be required to make changes to business stationery or advertising materials to ensure that the area code is included.
