Continuously serving Kosciusko County since 1854
Two new area codes will take effect in Indiana beginning Jan. 15.
Most of Kosciusko County will change to the 574 area code. Calls to Sidney and Silver Lake will require the 260 area code.
Indiana Office of Utility Consumer Counselor public information officer Anthony Swinger said the new area codes do not affect 911 calls, long distance telephone rates, local rates or local (free) calling area boundaries.
Indiana phone numbers are nearly depleted, he said. This realization began in 1996 with a split in the central part of the state.
The high demand is due largely to the popularity of cellular phones, pagers, fax machines, computer modems and other equipment.
Last month the Federal Communications Commission lifted the ban on technology-specific overlays, according to Swinger. In other words, providers are now allowed to assign new area codes to new cell phones, fax machines or other telecommunications numbers after a review by the FCC on a case-by-case basis.
The ban lift is months too late for northern Indiana, which had to go with a geographic split to stretch the numbers.
The Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission began examining the best solutions to the northern part of the state's problem in 1999. After several hearings and public meetings, it was determined two new area codes were needed.
In July 2001 a random drawing was held to assign the new area codes to their respective regions.
Area codes for northern Indiana will include the following exchanges:
219: Brook, Cedar Lake, Chesterton, Crown Point, Demotte, Dyer, East Chicago, Francesville, Gary, Goodland, Hammond, Hanna, Hebron, Highland, Hobart, Kentland, Kouts, La Crosse, Lake of the Four Seasons, Lake Station, Lake Village, LaPorte, Lowell, Medaryville, Merrillville, Michigan City, Monon, Morocco, Mount Ayr, Portage, Remington, Rensselear, Reynolds, Rolling Prairie, Roselawn, St. John, San Pierre, Union Mills, Valparaiso, Wanatha, Westville, Wheatfield, Wheeler, Whiting, Wolcott.
574: Akron, Argos, Atwood, Bourbon, Bremen, Bristol, Buffalo, Burket, Burnettsville, Burrows, Camden, Claypool, Culver, Deer Creek, Dunlap, Elkhart, Flora, Fulton, Gaveston, Goshen, Hamlet, Idaville, Kewanna, Knox, Lapaz, Leesburg, Logansport, Lucerne, Macy, Mentone, Middlebury, Milford, Millersburg, Millwood, Monterey, Monticello, Nappanee, New Carlisle, New Paris, North Judson, North Liberty, North Webster, Osceola, Pierceton, Plymouth, Rochester, Royal Center, South Bend, Star City, Syracuse, Tippecanoe, Twelve Mile, Wakarusa, Walkerton, Walton, Warsaw, Winamac, Wyatt, Yeoman.
260: Albion, Andrews, Angola, Arcola, Ashley, Auburn, Avilla, Berne, Bippus, Bluffton, Butler, Bryant, Churubusco, Columbia City, Corunna, Craigville, Cromwell, Decatur, Etna, Fort Wayne, Fremont, Garrett, Geneva, Hamilton, Harlan, Howe, Huntertown, Huntington, Kendallville, Kimmell, Lagrange, Lagro, Larwill, Laud, Leo, Liberty Center, Ligonier, Linn Grove, Markle, Mongo, Monroe, Monroeville, New Haven, North Manchester, Orland, Ossian, Pennville, Petroleum, Pleasant Lake, Pleasant Mills, Poe-Hoagland, Pokagon, Portland, Preble, Reservoir, Roanoke, Saint Joe, Salamonia, Shipshewana, Sidney, Silver Lake, South Milford, South Whitley, Spencerville, Toscin, Topeka, Tri Lakes, Uniondale, Urbana, Wabash, Warren, Waterloo, Wawaka, Wolcottville, Woodburn, Zanesville.
The following prefixes in the 219 area will transfer to the new 574 area code, effective Jan. 15, 2002: 202, 203, 204 206, 208 209, 210, 214, 215, 216, 220, 223, 224, 225, 227, 229, 231, 232, 233, 234, 235, 236, 237, 239, 240, 243, 245, 246, 247, 250, 251, 252, 254, 255, 256, 257, 258, 259, 262, 263, 264, 265, 266, 267, 268, 269, 271, 272, 273, 274, 276, 277, 278, 280, 282, 283, 284, 286, 287, 288, 289, 291, 292, 293, 294, 295, 296, 298, 299, 304, 305, 315, 320, 321, 323, 328, 329, 332, 340, 342, 353, 354, 360, 361, 370, 371, 372, 376, 382, 383, 386, 389, 453, 457, 472, 491, 498, 505, 514, 516, 518, 520, 521, 522, 523, 524, 256, 527, 528, 529, 532, 533, 534, 535, 536, 537, 538, 539, 540, 542, 546, 549, 551, 555, 556, 566, 581, 583, 584, 586, 590, 594, 595, 596, 598, 601, 603, 606, 607, 612, 621, 626, 631, 633, 634, 642, 643, 646, 651, 652, 653, 654, 656, 658, 664, 674, 675, 679, 686, 699, 702, 707, 709, 721, 722, 725, 727, 732, 735, 737, 739, 753, 772, 773, 784, 806, 807, 817, 821, 822, 825, 826, 830, 831, 832, 834, 835, 842, 848, 857, 858, 859, 862, 867, 875, 876, 889, 891, 893, 896, 903, 913, 930, 935, 936, 941, 943, 946, 948, 952, 965, 966, 967, 968, 970, 974, 993.
The following prefixes will transfer to the new 260 area code, effective Jan. 15, 2002: 207, 213, 217, 221, 238, 244, 248, 281, 290, 312, 316, 318, 319, 327, 330, 334, 335, 336, 337, 338, 339, 341, 343, 344, 346, 347, 348, 349, 350, 351, 352, 355, 356, 357, 358, 359, 366, 367, 368, 373, 375, 377, 381, 385, 387, 388, 396, 401, 402, 403, 404, 407, 408, 409, 410, 412, 413, 414, 415, 416, 417, 418, 420, 421, 422, 423, 424, 425, 426, 427, 428, 429, 430, 431, 432, 433, 434, 435, 436, 437, 438, 439, 440, 441, 442, 443, 444, 445, 446, 447, 449, 450, 451, 452, 454, 455, 456, 458, 459, 460, 461, 463, 466, 467, 468, 469, 470, 471, 475, 478, 479, 480, 481, 482, 483, 484, 485, 486, 487, 488, 489, 490, 492, 493, 494, 495, 496, 497, 499, 501, 502, 503, 504, 507, 517, 519, 525, 530, 541, 543, 547, 553, 557, 558, 560, 562, 563, 564, 565, 568, 569, 570, 571, 572, 573, 578, 579, 580, 582, 585, 587, 589, 591, 592, 593, 597, 599, 602, 609, 610, 618, 619, 622, 623, 624, 625, 627, 632, 635, 636, 637, 638, 639, 657, 665, 667, 668, 672, 673, 676, 691, 692, 693, 694, 698, 701, 703, 704, 705, 706, 708, 710, 715, 723, 724, 726, 728, 729, 731, 744, 745, 747, 748, 749, 750, 758, 760, 761, 768, 774, 780, 782, 786, 799, 802, 804, 818, 820, 823, 824, 827, 829, 833, 837, 839, 854, 856, 868, 894, 897, 908, 909, 917, 919, 920, 925, 927, 960, 969, 982, 995, 997
A permissive dialing period is in effect from Jan. 15 to June 13. During this five-month period numbers in the new 574 and 260 areas can be reached by either the new codes or 219.
The OUCC advises that callers get in the habit of using the new area codes as soon as possible. Cellular phones, fax machines and other equipment will have to be reprogrammed.
After June 14 mandatory dialing will begin. Between June 14 and July 29, callers will hear a recorded message advising them to redial the number using the correct code.
The new area codes are expected to last at least 20 years. Last month the IURC adopted a conservation program approved by the FCC. Instead of allocating telephone numbers in blocks of 10,000 the numbers are allocated in blocks of 1,000.
"This way we make sure the numbers are used wisely," Swinger said.
A fact sheet is available from the OUCC by calling 888-441-2494 or on the Net: www.IN.gov/oucc. Their e-mail address is:UCCINFO@ucclan.state.in.us
Swinger said many consumers have called requesting the fact sheet and few complaints about the changes have been registered.
"Most of the complaints have been about costs of changing the numbers for advertising purposes," Swinger said.
