FULLERTON CALIFORNIA - May 27, 2009. Beginning May 30, Cal State Fullerton will have a new area code - 657. Cal State Fullerton's main campus in Fullerton and CSUF Irvine Campus will be using this latest area code assigned within Orange County.
The additional area code was added by the California Public Utilities Commission to meet the increasing needs for additional phone numbers from throughout the county, explained Marci Payne, manager of telecommunications for Cal State Fullerton.
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Before the University's area-code switch, the dialing plan was:
0 = Campus operator 1xxx = 4D extensions at Irvine Campus (949-936-1xxx) 2xxx = 4D extensions at Fullerton Campus (714-278-2xxx) 3xxx = 4D extensions at Fullerton Campus (714-278-3xxx) 4xxx = 4D extensions at Fullerton Campus (714-278-4xxx) 5xxx = 4D extensions at Fullerton Campus (714-278-5xxx) 6xxx = 4D extensions at Fullerton Campus (714-626-6xxx) 7xxx = 4D extensions at Fullerton Campus (714-278-7xxx) 82xx = 4D extensions at Fullerton Campus (714-278-82xx) 83xx = 4D extensions at Fullerton Campus (714-278-83xx) 84xx = 4D extensions at Fullerton Campus (714-278-84xx) 85xx = 4D extensions at Fullerton Campus (714-278-85xx) 88xx = 4D extensions at Fullerton Campus (714-626-88xx) 9 = Outside line (local and toll)Effective May 30, all extensions were switched to 657-278. The new dialing plan is:
0 = Campus operator 1xxx = 4D extensions at Irvine Campus (657-278-1xxx) 2xxx = 4D extensions at Fullerton Campus (657-278-2xxx) 3xxx = 4D extensions at Fullerton Campus (657-278-3xxx) 4xxx = 4D extensions at Fullerton Campus (657-278-4xxx) 5xxx = 4D extensions at Fullerton Campus (657-278-5xxx) 6xxx = 4D extensions at Fullerton Campus (657-278-6xxx) 7xxx = 4D extensions at Fullerton Campus (657-278-7xxx) 8xxx = 4D extensions at Fullerton Campus (657-278-8xxx) 9 = Outside line (local and toll)Irvine campus extensions officially changed to 657-278-1xxx (creating a
657 island inside 949). However (as of 06/11/09) it was still possible to reach Irvine extensions at the old 949-936-1xxx numbers.I guess this change was made for a couple of reasons:
- It allows the University to consolidate all extensions in 657-278, eliminating the 949-936 and 714-626 anomalies.
- It allows the University to utilize previously unavailable number blocks 657-278-9xxx and 657-278-0xxx by switching to a 5-digit internal dialing plan.
Some authors (notably former TD contributor Mark Cuccia) have noted that this change violates an underlying argument in favor of overlays: "nobody has to change area codes." Well, that's true, but it doesn't preclude Universities and similar bulk number users from voluntarily switching to the overlay area code.
Neal McLain