Starting Sunday, many southwest Illinoisans will have to dial 10 digits to make a call
Metro-east residents soon will have to press three more buttons to make a phone call, as Illinois prepares for a new rule that will require people with the 618, 309 or 708 area codes to dial the full 10 digits of a phone number.
The state began asking people with the three area codes to begin dialing the 10 digits in late April in an effort to get the public ready for the change aimed to ease access to the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline. Beginning Sunday, calls won’t be completed without dialing the full 10 digits.
“Any local phone call made by dialing 7-digits will not go through after October 24, 2021 in any of the three area codes and a recording will inform you that your call cannot be completed as dialed,” a statement from the Illinois Commerce Commission read. “Customers will not have to change phone numbers and the price of the call will not change due to the dialing change. “
The mandatory change is set to go into effect Sunday, Oct. 24 and is needed to ensure that people can dial 988 to reach the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline by July 16, 2022, according to a news release from the Illinois Commerce Commission. The FCC voted to approve 988 as an abbreviated dialing code to reach the lifeline in July 2020, giving two years for the change to go into place.
“The order requires all telecommunications carriers, Interconnected Voice over Internet Protocol (VolP) providers and one-way VolP providers (covered providers) to make any network changes necessary to support 988 as the abbreviated dialing code for the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline,” the press release states.
People trying to reach the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline before the July 16, 2022 deadline will need to dial 1-800-273-TALK (8255).
This story was originally published October 23, 2021 at 8:00 AM.