Pacific Bell Reminds Customers to Dial New 559 Area Code Beginning May 15

Tips Prepare Customers For Final Transistion To New Area Code

San Francisco, California, May 5, 1999

To prepare for the final May 15 transition to the new 559 area code in parts of San Joaquin Valley and Central California previously served by the 209 area code, Pacific Bell reminds customers of important changes that need to be made. To ease complications surrounding the beginning of mandatory dialing for the new 559 area code, Pacific Bell encourages consumers - if they have not already done so - to make these vital changes:

  • Change stationery, business cards and advertising to reflect the new area code
  • Notify friends, relatives, business clients and customers of the new area code
  • Update fax machine group calling lists that have numbers affected by the change
  • Reprogram speed dialers, auto dialers, alarms and PBX (private phone systems) to reflect the change (contact your equipment vendor for assistance)
  • Reprogram outdial lists on personal computers that have numbers affected by the change
  • Check with wireless phone and paging service providers as well as Internet Service Providers to see if reprogramming is required

"It is important for our customers to understand that the introduction of the 559 area code will not affect the price of telephone calls," said Julie Petersen, network regulatory planner, Pacific Bell. "Distance and duration determine the cost of a call. Therefore, what is a local call now will remain a local call regardless of the area code change."

The 559 area code was created through a geographic split of the 209 area code approved by the California Public Utilities Commission in September 1997. The new area code is the 23rd area code introduced in California and is necessary to meet the needs of California's telephone customers and the telecommunications industry.

Details of the area code split are as follows:

  • The boundaries generally run along the Madera County line where it borders on Mariposa and Merced counties. The northern region retained the 209 area code and the southern region is assigned to the new 559 area code.
  • The 209 area code will continue to serve existing customers in Amador, Calaveras and Tuolumne counties, most of Mariposa, Merced, San Joaquin and Stanislaus counties and very small parts of Alameda, Alpine, Contra Costa, El Dorado, Fresno, Madera, Sacramento and Santa Clara counties. Some of the cities in the northern region include Lodi, Modesto, Merced, Sonora, Stockton and Turlock.
  • The new 559 area code will serve most of Fresno, Kings, Madera and Tulare counties, and very small portions of Inyo, Kern, Mariposa, Merced, Mono, Monterey and San Benito counties. Some of the cities in the southern region include Fresno, Hanford, Lindsay, Madera, Porterville and Visalia.

For the past six months, callers have been able to use either the 209 or 559 area code when completing calls to customers in the new 559 area code. Customers in the 209 and 559 area codes could also call between the two area codes using seven digits. These arrangements end May 15 when it becomes mandatory for customers to dial 1 area code seven-digit number to call between the 209 and 559 area codes. Anyone not dialing the 559 area code will receive a recorded message reminding them of the area code change. This reminder will last for about three months.

Area code relief plans are collectively developed by a telecommunications industry group composed of more than 30 companies with input from local community leaders and the public. Lockheed Martin acts as the area code administrator and is responsible for area code relief projects in both California and Nevada. The California Public Utilities Commission makes final decisions on area code issues.

Pacific Bell provides basic and leading-edge telephone services and products to over 15.3 million business and residential customers - a total of more than 18.2 million access lines - throughout California. It is a company of SBC Communications Inc., a global leader in the telecommunications industry, with more than 37.7 million access lines and 7.2 million wireless customers across the United States, as well as investments in telecommunications businesses in 11 countries. Under the Pacific Bell, Southwestern Bell, SNET, Nevada Bell and Cellular One brands, SBC, through its subsidiaries, offers a wide range of innovative services. SBC offers local and long-distance telephone service, wireless communications, data communications, paging, Internet access, and messaging, as well as telecommunications equipment, and directory advertising and publishing. SBC has more than 130,000 employees and its annual revenues rank it in the top 50 among Fortune 500 companies.