New telephone prefix changes dialing

PENN YAN--A new telephone prefix will change the way people make telephone calls within the 315 area code starting Saturday, Feb. 11.
The New York State Public Service Commission (Commission) announced that beginning Feb. 11, 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 overlay area code allows telephone companies to accommodate the increasing need for telephone numbers in central New York, and also accommodates future telephone number demand.
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: Yates, Cayuga, Chenango, Cortland, Fulton, Hamilton, Herkimer, Jefferson, Lewis, Madison, Oneida, Onondaga, Ontario, Oswego, Otsego, St. Lawrence, Seneca and Wayne.
The area code overlay requires consumers to dial 10 digits (area code + seven 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 Feb. 11, 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 seven-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:
• Current telephone numbers, including current area code, will not change.
• Beginning Feb. 11, all calls within and between 315/680 must be dialed with the area code plus the seven-digit local telephone number ("10-digit dialing").
• Consumers will continue to dial 1+ area code + telephone number for all calls to other area codes.
• What is a local call now will continue to remain a local call.
• The price of a call, and the price of other telephone services, will not change due to the new overlay area code.
• Calls to reach 911 emergency service will remain three digits.
• Beginning March 11, 2017, new telephone lines or services may be assigned numbers with the 680 area code. If you have a 680 area code, you must enter the area code and seven-digit phone number on all calls or the call won't be completed.
If you have any questions about the 315/680 area code overlay, please call your local phone provider or you may also visit the New York Public Service Commission website at http://www.dps.ny.gov/.