JOHN DAY – Telephone and state utility officials say we’re running out of phone numbers in Eastern and Southern Oregon – but don’t panic. Ten-digit dialing is still a couple of years away.

Representatives of the Oregon Public Utilities Commission will discuss the situation, and the options for dealing with it, at an open house Thursday, June 26.

The session will be from 5:30 to 7 p.m. at Keerins Hall, Grant County Fairgrounds.

According to the PUC, the 541 area code is running out of options to meet the demand for new phone numbers. NeuStar, which manages the database for North American telephone numbers, predict that the available numbers in 541 will run out in early 2011.

That means a new area code must be added in the 541 area, and “local seven-digit dialing will go away,” said Bob Valdez, PUC public information officer.

The telecommunications industry asked the PUC to investigate options for implementing a new area code. The agency has come up with several ways to make the change and will be seeking input from the public on their preferences, Valdez said.

The 541 area code covers about three-quarters of the state. The area is less densely populated than the urban Portland and Northern Willamette Valley area, which already has dealt with its own phone number shortage.

In 2000, the Northwest corner of Oregon got a second area code, with new numbers assigned to 971 rather than 503. As a result, callers there must include an area code when dialing local calls.

The same thing would happen with the addition of a new code to the 541 area. People seeking a phone number would be assigned one with the new code, not 541.

The agency is looking at four options:

? Assign a second area code to the entire 541 area. The industry likes this option because it would be consistent for the region and would gain a projected 24 years’ worth of phone numbers.

? Overlay a new code from Southwestern and Central Oregon, but the rest of Eastern Oregon would keep its single area code and seven-digit local dialing. This option would buy the system only six years, however, before more changes would need to be made.

? Expand the 971 area code, which was added to Northwest Oregon eight years ago, to the rest of the state. This would add 11-15 years to the number supply, but would require reprogramming of certain phone systems.

? Split the 541 code area into two parts: one that retains the 541 and one that gets a new code. There would be seven-digit dialing in each of the two areas, but customers in one area would be required to change their phone numbers.

If a new code is added to this area, Valdez said, it would not go into full effect until 2010.

He said that while change can be worrisome, residents in Northwestern Oregon adapted quickly to the 10-digit dialing.

“And with the proliferation of cell phones, many folks are already accustomed to 10 digits,” he said.