According to an article posted by KLFY NEWS, starting on October 24 all phone calls made locally will have to include the area code.
The Federal Trade Commission (FCC) has a mandate that states all calls from both land lines and mobile phones within the 337 or 504 area will have to use 10 digits to dial calls. This applies to all service providers. The date of the official change is October 24.
If you try to dial seven digits after October the call will not go through and a recording will alert the caller to dial 10-digits. Phone numbers will remain the same. The cost of phone calls and coverage areas will also stay the same. If dialing long distance, a “1” will still be used. This change applies to local calls. The use of three digit dialing will still work to reach 911, 211 and all other three-digit services.
According to a source the reason this change is taking place in the 337 and 504 calling area, is to change the National Suicide and Mental Health Crisis lifelines into 10-digits and do away with the 1-800 prefix. Eventually those hotlines will use a 988 prefix beginning July 16, 2022.
If you have any questions about this upcoming change, contact LUS Fiber at 337-99-FIBER or the FCC site at https://www.fcc.gov/suicide-prevention-hotline
SOURCE: KLFY NEWS