In September 2008, British Columbia is set to become
the first Canadian province to require 10digit
telephone dialing for all local calls, the CRTC
announced on Thursday.The 250 area code, which
covers all of BC but the Lower Mainland, is running
out of numbers, and the nation’s telecom regulator
has decided to extend the “788” prefix, already used
in and around Vancouver, into other parts of the
province.
10digit dialing is already mandatory in Greater
Vancouver, ever since the 604 area code ran out of
numbers and 788 was introduced. Similar situations
exist in other major metropolitan areas, including
Toronto, Montreal, OttawaGatineau, and
WindsorLondon, but BC will be the first Canadian
jurisdiction to require 10digit dialing on a
provincewide basis.
Beginning in June of next year, Telus Corp. plans
to remind callers of the change with a short
automated message whenever they enter a 7digit
number. After two and a half months of such
warnings, however, customers will be expected to
have their dialing fingers in peak physical
condition for 10digit calls.