New area code to join 843; no need for a hangup
“Let your fingers do the walking,” at least for dialing 10 digits for any phone number across the 843 area code as of Sept. 19.
The old “Ma Bell” ad slogan will apply when a new 854 area code overlays the entire turf of the eastern third of South Carolina in the 843 zone.
In other words, the whole geographic stretch of that coastal zone, going roughly 60 miles inland, from the N.C. line south past Hilton Head Island, will embody two area codes. The 803 and 864 zones, covering the respective central and western upstate regions, will remain their own separate, single area codes.
Notices of this change 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.
No existing phone numbers will require changes, nor will prices to make those same calls change.
So, for any call placed within the 843/854 area code, even to ring up the residence or business next door, 10 digits, including the area code, will need to be dialed on 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.
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.
Chris Rozycki, director of telecommunications for the S.C. Office of Regulatory Staff, based in Columbia, spoke about the preparations made for this adjustment.
Question | How long has the process to institute the 854 area code across 843 been in the works?
Answer | We’ve known about this for at least 2-5 years. This has been in these incoming stages. Almost two years ago, it was in the “almost here stage,” … in the last 18 months, with planning, and maybe the last 18 months, implementing it. ...
It’s become relatively routine, although some individuals find it to be very uprooting. Many people are familiar, particularly if they came from larger metropolitan areas. … They’ve done it in bigger cities a few years ago. Charlotte has had two area codes [704 and 980] for 10, maybe 15 years now.
Q. | How are area code numbers and their boundaries managed?
A. | The local telephone companies have to do a fair amount of work. It’s a reprogramming, in the industry vernacular. Preparation is the key. We at the Office of Regulatory Staff don’t do a lot, but it’s really the phone companies and the manager, the North American Numbering Plan Administration. NANPA really says: You know what, we are running out of numbers in the coastal region of South Carolina, and we need to do something about that. So, a new area code is brought in, and everybody gets ready for that to happen.
Q. | Besides the need for callers to add the area code to the seven-digit numbers they dial, what other homework will help in preparing for this two area-code region?
A. | There are fax machines, and alarm systems … and all those machines: If they use a phone number, they will need to be reprogrammed. … You’d be surprised how an individual or a workplace might have a different number associated with a telephone, fax machine, and maybe other machines in the office, along with alarm systems and cell phones. Each person might be responsible for multiple numbers. Plus, behind a lot of computer/data lines, there’s a telephone number. Every elevator has a phone in it – in things like that, they hide.
Q. | How was 854 chosen for this area? It’s so close to 855, the first three-digits of a series of toll-free number prefixes, along with 800, 866, 877, 888.
A. | It was basically handed to us by NANPA.
Q. | When might phone numbers with the new 854 area code take effect?
A. | They are going to be phased in over time. Beginning Oct. 19, if somebody moves to Myrtle Beach, they may get assigned a number with the new area code. … There also have been numbers reserved in the 843 area code so that bigger organizations, school districts, city and county governments might have some unused numbers in reserves, so if they add new numbers in their existing area code, they don’t have to switch.
NANPA is kind of the forecaster of the situation. If a new company comes in … it might get assigned new numbers in the 854 area code.
Q. | When was the 843 area code in South Carolina split off from 803, and might other area code overlays ensue, with this state’s population increasing steadily?
A. | It might have been 1998. … It will eventually happen in Columbia [808] and Greenville [864], though the growth is not fairly as great as the coastal area.
Q. | With the 854 overlay with 843, how has this transition been going, since March, when the 10-digit dialing procedure was in place and available for use by anyone getting into the groove early? In material for The Sun News print and online news platforms, we already have begun inserting 843 before local phone numbers.
A. | People have been warming up to it. We’ve been running into little glitches here and there, and this test period has allowed us to find out what’s not working. Credit really goes to the telephone companies, because they’re really in charge of this awareness. It’s their networks, their equipment that are used every day. … Once the change is made, six months afterward, people will wonder why that was such a big deal.
Q. | What other reminders are important for readers in the final run-up to Sept. 19 and 10-digit dialing?
A. | There will be some lasting effects, on things like letterhead and business cards, that have a cost, plus reprogramming all the numbers in your cell phone.
Contact STEVE PALISIN at 843-444-1764.
Some places for updating
▪ Notify alarm service providers of the area code and seven-digit telephone number(s), so alarm service records and equipment can be updated as needed.
▪ Ensure that such devices as security door and gate systems, life safety systems/medical devices, fax machines, Internet dial-up numbers, call-forwarding, automatic-dial or speed-dial features,and mobile phone contact lists are reprogrammed to dial area code and seven-digit numbers.
▪ Reprogram all related devices to dial area code and seven-digit numbers, and test them for dialing and receiving area code and seven-digit numbers.
▪ Update items such as stationery, checks, business cards, advertisements, promotional items, brochures, web pages, and catalogs to include your area code and seven-digit number.
▪ Provide your area code and seven-digit number to your business contacts.
▪ Double check for area code inclusion on personal and pet identification tags.
This story was originally published September 6, 2015 at 8:00 AM with the headline "New area code to join 843; no need for a hangup."