The Reminder is making its archives back to 2003 available on our website. Please note that, due to technical limitations, archive articles are presented without the usual formatting.
Jonathon Naylor Editor More fingerwork will soon be required for Flin Flonners making local phone calls. Starting this Sunday, July 29, Manitobans are to begin dialing all 10 digits _ 204 followed by the number _ when placing local calls. A 1 will only be required before the 204 when dialing long-distance. For the next 12 weeks, those who fail to dial 10 digits will hear an announcement reminding them of the change before their call is connected. Effective Oct. 20, however, no local calls will go through unless 10 digits are dialed. An announcement will advise callers that more digits are needed. New code MTS is implementing the change ahead of the introduction of a second area code for Manitoba _ 431 _ on Nov. 3. Existing customers will keep their current 204 area code and numbers, but new subscribers could be given a number starting with 431. The new area code comes in response to the Canadian Numbering Administrator's notification that Manitoba is expected to run out of 204 numbers by May 2013. Ten-digit local dialing in Manitoba will not force Flin Flonners to pay long-distance charges when calling Creighton. See 'Sas...' on pg. 7 Continued from pg. 1 Creighton residents will continue to make calls as per usual since Saskatchewan is retaining seven-digit local dialing until next year. Ten-digit local dialing is tentatively scheduled to become mandatory in Saskatchewan beginning on May 11, 2013. Starting on Feb. 25, 2013, Saskatchewan callers will hear a phone message each time they dial seven digits for a local call, reminding them that 10 are required. As with the grace period in Manitoba, the call will still be automatically completed until the mandatory date arrives. Saskatchewan is set to gain a second area code of 639. In both provinces, phone numbers are increasingly needed due to the popularity of wireless phones and other communication devices. More information is available on the MTS and SaskTel websites.
