Nuvera President and CEO Glenn Zerbe makes sure to dial all 10 digits on his office phone, beating the seven digit dialing habit. After July 30, no more seven digit calling will be accessible in the 507 area code region.

NEW ULM — For people in the 507 area code, including New Ulm, a new area code is coming.

With the 507 area code in place since 1954, the time has come when phone number combinations are starting to run out. The Minnesota Public Utilities Commission projected that numbers will run out by 2025. To get in front of that, the area code 924 will start being rolled out on Aug. 30.

This area code will be rolled out only in the area currently covered by the 507 area code. This includes cities such as Albert Lea, Austin, Fairmont, Mankato, Northfield, Rochester, Winona, and Worthington, as well as the smaller communities within this area.

On Jan. 30, a six-month transition period began, giving people time to transition from seven-digit calling without the area code to 10-digit calling including the area code. People will have until July 30 to make this change, when residents and businesses will be required to use all 10 digits on all local calls.

If only seven digits are used, a message will play telling callers to include the area code when they call.

Nuvera President and CEO Glenn Zerbe said phone companies and corporations are the main sources using cell phone numbers.

“Lots of people have draws on phone numbers,” he said. “Cell phone companies and other providers take huge blocks of phone numbers out of circulation and hand them out. Corporations take huge blocks of numbers and use them across their enterprise. At some point, it becomes necessary to add another area code to facilitate the additional numbers.”

The 924 numbers will not be replacing any 507 numbers, only adding new numbers for new customers or additional business lines. Zerbe said the best thing people can do to prepare is to work out of the dialing seven numbers habit.

“The best thing is to get acclimated with always dialing 10 digits today,” he said. “Look through all of your contact lists and make sure that you have all 10 digits loaded for all contacts. If you complete that work and start using the 10 digits, I think it will be very seamless.”

Nuvera spokesperson Joanna Hjelmeland said businesses will also have to make changes. If their signage only has seven numbers, an update ensuring all 10 numbers are displayed will be necessary to avoid confusion. Zerbe said this also applies to business stationaries and pre-recorded answering machines that have seven digits featured.

For those not in the 507 area code, Zerbe said nothing will change with their numbers and how they dial. The only change will be acknowledging the 924 area code along with 507.

In a press release, Nuvera also recommended updating inventory devices and services like security systems, health care alert devices, and pet ID tags.

For more information visit https://www.nationalnanpa.com/press_releases/index.html and https://mn.gov/puc/consumers/new-area-code-924.jsp