A six-month "permissive dialing period" began Saturday as the Acadiana area begins the transition to mandatory 10-digit dialing.
Telephone customers in Acadiana and the New Orleans area will begin dialing 10 digits after the FCC adopted an order last July approving the designation of 988 as the three-digit dialing code for the National Suicide Prevention and Mental Health Crisis Hotline, similar to 911. The order requires 82 area codes that currently permit seven-digit dialing and use 988 as a telephone prefix to start using 10-digit dialing at a local level.
In Louisiana, area codes 337 and 504 will be affected, while other cities will be able to continue using 7-digit dialing.
During the six-month period that starts Saturday, customers will start practicing dialing 10 digits and reprogramming telephone handsets and systems.
A mandatory dialing enforcement period begins on October 24, during which carriers can start enforcing mandatory 10-digit dialing. the transition to 10-digit dialing will be complete on July 16, 2022.
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