OKLAHOMA CITY — OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Residents across eastern Oklahoma will have to get accustomed to a new telephone area code and dialing 10 digits, but won’t have to change their phone numbers under a plan approved Monday by the Oklahoma Corporation Commission.
The three-member panel voted 2-1 in favor of an “overlay” plan for the new 539 area code to be added to the existing geographic 918 area code, which includes most of eastern and northeastern Oklahoma, including metropolitan Tulsa.
The North American Numbering Plan Administration, which works with the Federal Communications Commission, selected the 539 area code Monday after the commission’s vote.
New customers and phone lines will be assigned the new area code no earlier than April 1, 2011. Existing customers will keep their current 918 area code phone numbers, and new customers still could be assigned 918 numbers, if they still are available.
Under the new plan, residents will have to dial 10 digits instead of seven for every call, even local ones. A “permissive calling” period will begin Aug. 7 and run until March 5, 2011, to help customers adjust to the change. During that time customers can dial either the seven- or 10-digit numbers.
Commissioners Bob Anthony and Jeff Cloud favored the overlay method, while Commissioner Dana Murphy, R-Edmond, opposed it, saying she preferred a geographic split.
“Making each area code distinct to a geographic part of the state helps rural and urban Oklahoma maintain their identities,” Murphy wrote in a dissenting statement.
State News
Panel OKs overlay for new eastern Okla. area code
- State News
-
-
Lawmakers talk taxes
For the Oklahoma Legislature, the only certainty in 2012 is that tax policy will be the focus for much of the session that starts Monday. -
Family of man who committed suicide in jail files lawsuit
One and a half years after their son died in the Payne County Jail, Ron and Thora duBois have filed a federal lawsuit against county officials and the corporation that provides health care to county jail inmates.
-
Oklahoma DHS director resigns effective Feb. 29
In a tear-filled statement, Oklahoma Department of Human Services Director Howard Hendrick announced Tuesday he would be stepping down from the agency Feb. 29.
-
Oklahoma’s jobless rate steady at 6.1 percent
Oklahoma’s jobless rate held steady at 6.1 percent in December, according to reports Tuesday by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics and the Oklahoma Employment Security Commission.
-
Report: Corrections reforms could save state $249 million
A public safety report released Wednesday recommends more supervision for offenders once they are released, additional resources for police and more beds for those with mental illness.
-
Testing for Oklahoma high-school diplomas vital, school superintendent tells funding panel
The approaching era of high-stakes graduation testing is necessary to ensure an Oklahoma high school diploma has value, state Superintendent Janet Barresi told lawmakers Wednesday.
-
Oklahoma lawmaker wants sales tax on newspapers
A Tahlequah lawmaker has proposed placing a state sales tax on the cost of newspapers.
-
Proposal targets job protection for state employees
A bill proposed by a Republican Tulsa lawmaker would eliminate employment protections for nearly 25,000 state workers.
-
OSBI: Search continues for missing woman
OSBI agents and Cotton County Sheriff’s Deputies continue to search for Teresa Speir.
The 52-year-old woman did not show up for work Sunday, officials said. Law enforcement has searched more than 500 acres near her home southwest of Devol. -
Mired in controversy, Oklahoma ME's Office improves autopsy turnaround, still without accreditation
Almost three years after losing its accreditation, the state Medical Examiner’s Office has not regained that standing and remains in an aging building with deficient office space, records show.
- More State News Headlines
-
Lawmakers talk taxes
