Myrtle Beach area residents: When making local calls, be sure to dial all 10 digits

Here’s the 411 on the area code changes for this region.

Starting Saturday, anyone making a local call in the 843 area code will need to dial all 10 digits.

That’s because a new 854 area code will overlay the eastern third of South Carolina previously in the 843 zone. This means the swath of that coastal zone, which goes roughly 60 miles inland and runs from the N.C. line south past Hilton Head Island, will have two area codes.

No existing phone numbers will require changes. The cost of making those same calls won’t change, either.

The 803 and 864 zones, covering the central and western upstate regions respectively, will remain their own separate, single area codes.

But anyone making a call within the 843/854 area code, even one to a neighbor, must dial all 10 digits. This applies to both landlines and wireless phones. Numbers for certain services in a community, including 9-1-1 for police or fire/rescue emergencies, will remain unchanged, with just the three digits needed to dial.

Notices about the transition have been in motion for months, including reminders in billing statements Horry Telephone Cooperative Inc. of Conway issues to customers (www.htcinc.net/854-area-code), and on Page 2 of its 2015-16 telephone directory published in April.

This overall change to 10 from seven numbers to dial shouldn’t cause any hangup, because it simply involves dialing a complete phone number, and tweaking the everyday process of calling, and making sure the area code is programmed in safety and security systems, fax machines, phone lists, and the like, as well as on marketing materials, websites, business cards and stationery, pet ID tags, and in other formats.

This story was originally published September 18, 2015 at 9:45 PM with the headline "Myrtle Beach area residents: When making local calls, be sure to dial all 10 digits."