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Get ready to dial 10 digits for local calls starting in October

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — Indianapolis is getting a new area code.

Soon if you get a new phone, you might get “463” instead of “317”.

Because of this change, residents need to get used to dialing all 10 digits of the phone number.

That’s even if you’re dialing to the same area code as your phone number.

But soon your calls will stop going through if you only dial seven digits.

“I think it’ll definitely have an impact, it’ll be interesting to see,” Indy resident Sarah Fedder said.

People are quickly realizing how many phone habits will have to change.

“Now you’re going to have to ask what their area code is in order to make sure you have the correct phone number,” she said.

“Usually if I have somebody’s business card I don’t dial the 317, I just dial the seven digits on there,” Resident Ranen Singh said.

One big concern is the contact list with numbers people already have saved.

“So if you didn’t get the area code when you first met the person or were exchanging contact information, if it’s not already in there, then if you have 500 contacts, that’s 500 that you’re going to have to go through,” Fedder said.

“I have a lot of contacts and editing each one of them is going to be a problem,” Singh said.

“There’s businesses that I know, the local pizza place, they’re not 317 in my phone, they’re just the regular phone number, so that’s going to stink,” Resident Evan McMahon said.

McMahon said he might just change numbers through trial and error.

“As soon as the call doesn’t work, then you go back and edit it in,” he said.

The deadline for dialing 10 digits was originally set for this Saturday.

But as a courtesy, the state regulators pushed it back until October 15.

Thursday, Verizon accidentally sent a text to some customers with the original date.

They sent 24-Hour News 8 a statement regarding the accidental text.

Earlier today Verizon, in an attempt to inform its customers about the 317 area code overlay which will take effect on October 15, inadvertently sent an incorrect date of September 17 to a number of its customers. We apologize for any confusion this may have caused. More information about the overlay is available at: www.vzw.com/317overlay.”

Again, the original deadline to start using 10 digit dialing was September 17.

The new deadline is October 15.

Go to this link for more information on the new rules.