Changes in Dialing for 206, 360, 253, & 425 Area Codes

Created by Micah Schaafsma
Jan 09, 2018
2 min read

In July 2017 (this summer) there will be new telephone dialing procedures that will impact western Washington, including SPU. The area code 564 will be introduced to support the increased demand for new telephone numbers. The new area code will OVERLAP the existing206, 360, 253, and 425 area code regions.

When the new area code is made available, ALL PHONE CALLS will REQUIRE 10-digit dialing (area code + 7-digit phone number). This means that calls within a single area code that can now be dialed with 7-digits -- will all require full 10-digit dialing.

What you need to know?

  1. Current phone numbers will NOT change.
  2. Starting on July 28, 2017 -- ALL phone calls will require full 10-digit dialing. This includes calls from your cell phone, your home phone, plus your on-campus phone extension.
  3. The price of the call, whether it's a local call or long distance call will NOT change.
  4. You will still need to dial 1+area code+7-digit number to place a long distance call.
  5. On-campus calls to other on-campus numbers will still be 4-digits. Remember that SPU has several prefixes (206-281-xxxx, 206-286-xxxx, 206-378-xxxx) for on-campus extensions.
  6. Dialing to off-campus numbers from on-campus phones will require 9+ (9+10-digit number, or 9+1+10-digit number).
  7. You can still dial 3 digits to reach 911 for emergencies (or 9+911 from an on-campus phone).

Why are we telling you now?

To start you thinking about the potential impacts of upcoming phone dialing procedures. Now, more than ever, you need to start thinking of phone numbers as FULL 10-digit numbers. A few items to consider:

  1. Do you publish a directory, a list of contact numbers, an excel worksheet with telephone numbers? Always include full 10-digit numbers.
  2. Do you have publications, brochures, stationary, web pages that include phone numbers? Always include full 10-digit numbers.
  3. Do you have stored speed dial numbers on your cell phone, home phone, on-campus phone, FAX lists, call forwarding settings, or any other automatic dialing equipment? Always include full 10-digit numbers.

Optional 10-digit Dialing Starts on January 28, 2017

While 10-digit dialing will be MANDATORY on July 28, 2017, it will become optional for western Washington calls starting on January 28, 2017. Calls from your on-campus phone, your cell phone, or your home can support full 10-digit dialing on that date.