Reporter-News Archives Saturday, May 24, 1997 New area code goes into effect By LORETTA FULTON / Regional Editor BRECKENRIDGE - Rosalie Harris is just now getting used to dialing 817 every time she makes a call to Breckenridge from her home 14 miles to the northwest, even though she's in the 817 area code, too. That requirement went into effect three years ago. Starting Sunday, Harris is going to have to reprogram her brain to dial 254 when calling Breckenridge and change her own area code to 940. "This telephone thing is very complicated," she said. Effective Sunday only Fort Worth and its immediate surrounding area will be in the 817 area code. The rest of the previous 817 territory has been split into two new area codes - 940 to the north and 254 to the south - affecting 550,000 telephone lines. The dividing line is roughly northern Stephens County east to Lake Dallas. While no towns were split between the two new codes, some counties - including Stephens, Palo Pinto and a tiny portion of Erath - were. Rapid growth of cellular phones, fax machines, pagers and computers are being blamed for the need for new area codes. Although the new area codes go into effect Sunday, callers have a three-month grace period, until Aug. 24, before the new area codes become mandatory. Until then, dialing 817 will still get you through. But most people are biting the bullet now, writing themselves notes and reprogramming telephones and other equipment. "We're going ahead and gearing up right now," said Breckenridge City Manager Gary Ernest. In addition to having to reprogram equipment, many people will have to change their phone numbers on business cards, signs and letterhead stationery. Ernest said the city will use up what it has in stock with the 817 area code printed and then reorder with the new number. "It won't cost us a lot of money," he said, since the city doesn't have a large supply of office products on hand. Even with his constituents living in two different area codes, Stephens County Judge Gary Fuller doesn't expect trouble. "We always just go with the flow," he said. "I don't anticipate any problems." But others aren't as optimistic and some fear that services such as 911 will be affected by the change. Telephone company officials assure no one will have a problem with 911, but others aren't so sure. "That's been a major consideration," Ernest said. He worries that 911 calls from people like Rosalie Harris who live in the northern part of the county might be forwarded to Young County, which would have the same area code as Harris. Joe Rogers, who is in charge of 911 operations for the West Central Texas Council of Governments, said people need not worry. All 911 calls are keyed to the first three digits of the phone number, he said, and the new area codes won't affect that. The telephone companies have updated their database to take care of 911, he assured. Another question that arose is whether some calls that previously were local will now be long distance. The answer is "no." "If it was a local call before, it will remain a local call," according to phone company officials, even if the area code changes. "If it was a long distance call before the new area code was introduced, it will remain a long distance call." More area code changes are coming. On July 7, two new codes will be added in the San Antonio area. Last year new codes were put into use in the Dallas and Houston areas. But even more drastic changes are in the future. Someday a system known as "number portability" will be in place, said Charles Watkins, public affairs manager for GTE. And Dennis Gloyna with Southwestern Bell said, "Eventually at the date you're born, you will be given a (telephone) number." You will carry that number with you wherever you go, much like a Social Security number. "Everywhere you go you'll be wearing a Dick Tracy watch and it'll ring," he joked - but only partly so. "We're in the middle of an age that's truly phenomenal." And perplexing. Rosalie Harris, 68, remembers that when she and her husband married in 1948 they had no electricity, phones or rural water. Now they have more area codes than they know what to do with. "It's kind of ugly to complain," Harris admitted. "Life has changed so much." But still she worries about people like an elderly neighbor with Parkinson's Disease. A relative is coming to reprogram the telephone and other equipment for her. "All these little things add stress to people's lives," Harris said. "The younger people can adjust to them better than the old." Send a Letter to the Editor about This Story | Start or Join A Discussion about This Story Send the URL (Address) of This Story to A Friend: Enter their email address below: texnews.com Reporter OnLine Local Sports Texas Sports Copyright ©1997, Abilene Reporter-News / Texnews / E.W. Scripps Publications