If you try to dial a local number without the 515 or 319 area codes, the call will not go through today.
Iowa Utilities Board spokesman, Don Tormey, says it’s part of a change by the FCC to avoid confusion with a new 988 National Suicide Prevention Lifeline. “When the FCC issued that order it impacted area codes throughout the United States — and in Iowa, the 515 and 319 area codes are now required to dial all ten digits to complete a local call,” Tormey says.
He says you should check to be sure that all your devices have the area codes to prevent issues with local calls. “Home alarms and other security systems, speed dialers, mobile and other wireless phone contact lists, voice mail services, those kinds of things,” he says.
Tormey says the change was made Sunday. He says you could have still made a local call without the area code until the change. Tormey says there is more information about the change on the IUB website.