San Francisco and parts of Marin County to dial calls differently beginning February 21, 2015

SAN FRANCISCO, Jan. 22, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Beginning February 21, 2015, residents and businesses with 415 area code telephone numbers must dial 1+ the area code + phone number when making all direct dial calls. This change paves the way for an additional area code (628) for new telephone lines and services in the same geography.

The 415 Area Code generally covers the County of San Francisco, most of Marin County and a small portion of San Mateo County; serving the communities of Belvedere, Brisbane, Corte Madera, Daly City, Fairfax, Ignacio, Inverness, Larkspur, Mill Valley, Nicasio, Novato, Point Reyes, Ross, San Anselmo, San Francisco, San Rafael, Sausalito, Stinson Beach and Tiburon.

The 415 Public Education Program (415 PEP) participants, a consortium of landline and wireless telecommunications providers in cooperation with the California Public Utilities Commission, offer the following tips to residents and businesses:

• Deadline. Beginning February 21, 2015 direct dialed calls from 415 phone numbers will not go through unless dialed as 1 + the area code + phone number.
• Phone numbers and pricing unchanged. The new dialing procedure will not change existing 415 phone numbers or the cost of the call. Calls that are in a consumer's local calling area remain local calls.
• Dialing 9-1-1 unaffected. Consumers can still dial three digits to reach 911, as well as 211, 311, 411, 511, 611, 711 and 811 where they are available.
• Reprogram automatic dialers. Automatic dialing equipment must be reprogrammed to use the new dialing procedure, including: life safety systems, fax machines, Internet dial-up numbers, alarm and security systems, gates, speed dialers, call forwarding settings, voicemail services, and similar functions.

Phone numbers with the new 628 area code may be issued beginning March 21, 2015. These numbers will share the same local calling area as 415 numbers have today.

For more information, please visit your service provider's website or www.cpuc.ca.gov/415areacode

SOURCE California Public Utilities Commission

Related Links

http://www.cpuc.ca.gov