Starting in March, Utahns will have to dial 10 digits to call locally.
The phone company Qwest and the Utah Division of Public Utilities decided to add the area code 385 because of Utah’s growing population. The change will affect the state’s more populous counties, such as Salt Lake, Davis, Weber, Utah and Morgan counties. The new numbers will be distributed starting March 29. By then Utahns will already have been using the 10-digit system for almost a month.
The additional area code will not change the U’s five-digit dialing system unless you are calling a number outside of the U.
According to the UDPU, the new area code will not change prices or services.
Some cell phone companies, such as Cricket, have already been requiring its users to dial with 10 digits.
Tyler Conner, a junior in chemical engineering, said dialing the extra three numbers doesn’t matter to him.
“I’ve been using 10 digits for a while now, so it’s not a change for me,” said Conner, who has an out-of-state cell phone that requires him to dial the full number.
For more information about the change, call the UDPU at 800-874-0904.
Alex Cragun