10-Digit Dialing: Wisconsin Residents Will Switch Sunday

MILWAUKEE, WI — Wisconsin residents with certain area codes will have to dial an area code and a seven-digit numbers to make both local and long distance phone calls starting Sunday, the Public Service Commission of Wisconsin announced Monday.

The area codes affected by the switch to 10-digit dialing include the following.

• 414.
• 262.
• 608.
• 920.

The Federal Communications Commission adopted an order to approve "988" as a three-digit abbreviated dialing code to reach the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, the commission said in a statement. The new code will go live on July 16, 2022.

Some 36 other states had to transition to 10-digit dialing to make sure 988 will work, the commission said. Wisconsinites in 543 and 715 area codes already have a 10-digit dialing requirement, so they won't be affected.

The following won't be affected by the 10-digit dialing requirement.

• A customer's telephone number and current area code will remain the same.
• Rates and services for calls and coverage areas will remain the same.
• Local call charges will remain the same, regardless of the number of digits dialed.
• Customers will dial 1, an area code and the telephone number for any calls.
• Customers will still dial prefixes — such as "9" — when dialing from a multiline phone system.
• Customers can still dial three digits to reach 711 and 911.
• If 211, 311, 411, 511, 611 or 811 are available in a community, local customers can still dial these codes using just three digits.
• Customers can reach the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline by dialing 1-800-273-TALK (8255) even after the 988 code goes into effect.