Time To Dial In On Area Code Issue

Open the 1972 Spokane phone book and float into prefix nostalgia. That was the last year for phone numbers starting with letter prefixes, such as FA (Fairfax) or KE (Keystone) or MA (Main). Then, numbers took over and reciting a phone number never sounded poetic again.

Many people didn’t like it. Mess with phones and you mess with something deeper. Well, some major tinkering with phone numbers looms in the future. The trusty old 509 area code, which has served Eastern Washington since 1957, might have an area-code buddy soon. Regulators and telephone industry officials are studying several ways to incorporate an additional area code by 2002.

The reason? Demand. More cell phones, faxes and computer modems have helped exhaust hard-working 509. The Washington Utilities Transportation Commission will continue to study the proposals on how to divide the area codes. And there might be ways to delay a new area code for several more years, commissioners say. They plan to hold public hearings in coming months.

So if you have strong feelings about 509, plan to attend those meetings.