New Las Vegas area code transition begins

(photo: Boulder City Social)

New Las Vegas area code transition begins

The New Las Vegas area code transition begins today and you will have nine months of practice to get used to dialing 10 numbers.

Like other major cities, due to increased demand, Las Vegas is simply running out of the prized 702 phone numbers in Southern Nevada and a new Las Vegas area code, 725, has been added.

It had been projected that available numbers in the 702 area code would be exhausted during the third quarter of 2014.

To make things easier for consumers, the Nevada Public Utilities Commission (PUC) will implement the new Las Vegas area code in three steps.

During the first step of the transitory period, which begins today and runs though May 2, 2014, customers can dial seven digits or start to dial 10 digits for all calls.

Either way, your calls will go through during the first step of the process.

During this time, the Nevada PUC recommends that you reprogram any safety systems, alarms, PBXs, fax machine calling lists, speed dialers, private entry access systems, auto-dialers and out-dialing lists on personal computers to the new 10 digit format.

Since many people use smart phones, address book entries should be updated as well.

The second part of the transition begins May 3, 2014.  On this date, 10-digit calling becomes mandatory. Callers who dial seven digits will receive a recorded message instructing them to dial 10 digits. You must dial 702 plus the seven digit phone number.

The final step begins on June 3, 2014.

That is the date that new telephone lines or services may be assigned numbers using the new Las Vegas area code 725.

Calls made to 911 or 411 will not change and there is no change to the cost of calls.

If a call is currently local, it will remain local and if it is long distance, it will remain long distance.

More information can be found on the State of Nevada Public Utilities Commission regarding the new Las Vegas area code transition.

Related articles

• New 725 Area Code Transition Period Set to Start
• Understanding the New Area Code Overlay
• Southern Nevadans Prepare For 10-digit Local Calls