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A black rotary phone.
Starting on Monday, Oct. 25, Texans with phone numbers in the 409 area code area must dial 10-digits (area code + telephone number) for all local calls. Other affected area codes include 254, 361, 806, 830, 915 and 940 area codes.
On July 16, 2020, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) issued an order approving 988 as the three-digit abbreviated dialing code for the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline. The order requires all telecommunications providers to make any network changes necessary to ensure 988 access by July 16, 2022. Several Texas area codes, including Southeast Texas’ 409 area code, have numbers with a 988 prefix. Therefore, those areas must transition from seven-digit to 10-digit local dialing.
April 24 marked the beginning of a “permissive dialing period” in which callers in those area codes were encouraged to adopt the ten-digit dialing practice. That period expires on Oct. 24, meaning only calls dialed with ten digits will be connected thereafter. Beginning Oct. 25, local calls dialed with only seven digits will reach a recording prompting them to hang up and dial again using both the area code with the seven-digit telephone number.
Beginning July 16, 2022, dialing “988” will route calls to the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline. Customers must continue to dial 1-800-273-8255 (TALK) to reach the Lifeline until July 16, 2022.