Making a telephone call in some parts of Iowa will get to be a real numbers game.

Increasing te…

By News Dept.

Making a telephone call in some parts of Iowa will get to be a real numbers game.

Increasing telecommunications use is absorbing numbers at a fast rate, something that means dialing a ten-digit number for all calls, local and toll, could be a reality next year.

In fact, voluntary ten-digit dialing, if approved by regulators, could be commonplace in the 515 area code by June. There also are reports of companies in eastern Iowa running out of numbers.

Locally, there are no immediate changes; in fact, the Kalona Cooperative Telephone Company addressed this possibility a few years ago.

For the 515 area code region, though, the ten digit system possibility derives from expectations that telephone prefixes will be exhausted by 2001.

What has depleted the numbers?

Experts say that the growth of pagers, cell phones, fax machines and Internet lines, as well as an inefficient use of telephone prefixes, has caused the problem nationwide. In a number of states, area codes have to be dialed within the code area, as well as for local calls.

One of the more recent changes came in Chicago where an existing area code was split, with another assigned to half of the area. The method is effective, but it did cause inconvenience to a large number of customers.

The Iowa Utilities Board, the regulatory agency, says it expects a decision on a specific plan to be made before the year’s end. There will be a series of public meetings before changes occur.

However, the board has indicated that change is inevitable.

There are 792 assignable prefixes, each capable of having 10,000 telephone numbers, available in Iowa. In theory that means there could be three phone numbers for every one of Iowa’s residents.

In 1994, Iowans were required to start dialing the area code on every long-distance call, even within the existing area code region, as a way to help extend the available phone numbers.

Just as the in 515 area, the numbers in 319 are dwindling. But the supply is expected to last until 2002.

An industry-wide meeting for the 319 area code region is planned for September.

For US West, the requirement for ten-digit calling went into effect August 2.