OGDEN -- Utahns switched to a 10-digit dialing system more than a year ago to prepare for the new 385 area code, but most have yet to dial a phone number with the new area code.
Officials say that may change soon.
Julie Orchard, spokeswoman for the Utah Public Service Commission, said that while many have never dialed 385, most will be punching the code in their phones within the next three years.
"They are getting out there," she said Monday about numbers with the new area code.
"When I give out my phone number, I give out just seven digits, because I just assume people will know that it's still the 801. That will change over the years."
Currently, Orchard said, eight blocks of 385 numbers have been issued in Utah.
She said a block consists of either 1,000 or 10,000 numbers, depending on the size of a business within the block.
She said most of the 385 numbers now assigned are being used by large businesses that have moved into the area and need a lot of numbers for their company.
A new cell phone company that has come into the state also has been distributing the new numbers.
Residential customers who already have numbers with the 801 area code and may be seeking another line have not been given the new area code, Orchard said.
"We don't want to have one home having more than one area code," she said.
"As a result, enough 801 area codes have been saved that allows residents to keep in their same area code."
Orchard said the number of lines using the 385 area code so far is what UPSC expected when initiating the 10-digit dialing system in 2008.
While many residents were distraught over the new dialing system at first, she said, most have adjusted and the agency has received fewer complaints.
"The thing that is good from our perspective is that it's been in use now for almost a year, and people have adjusted," Orchard said.
"At the beginning, we had quite a raft of complaints, but within the past six months, we've hardly had any complaints. The transition has occurred."
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