LANSING, October 5.  The Michigan Public Service Commission reminds Michigan telephone 
customers that, beginning Saturday October 6, 2001, you will need to dial the area code 989 
to reach customers in the Saginaw LATA*.    The Commission approved a geographic split of 
Central Michigan's 517 area code in 2000, with the southern portion of the area code retaining 
the 517 area code while the Saginaw LATA, the northern portion of the 517 area code, received 
the new 989 area code.     Saginaw, Midland, Bay City, Mount Pleasant, Gaylord and Alpena are 
among the cities that are included in the 989 area code.  The 517 area code was created in 1949 
and has never been split.  A map identifying the 517 and the 989 area codes is available at 
www.cis.state.mi.us/mpsc/comm/areacode/517989areacodemap.pdf .

Permissive dialing of the new 989 area code began on April 7, 2001.  Required or mandatory 
dialing of 989 begins this Saturday.   Beginning Saturday, callers who do not use the 989 area 
code will hear a message indicating that their call did not go through and they will be advised to 
redial using the 989 area code.

Customers should see no changes in the cost of their telephone calls as a result of the 989 area 
code.  A local telephone call will remain a local call and a long distance call will remain a long 
distance call for billing purposes.

The MPSC is an agency within the Department of Consumer and Industry Services.


*A LATA is a local access transport area, and there are five LATAs in Michigan:  the Detroit 
LATA, the Saginaw LATA, the Lansing LATA, the Grand Rapids LATA and the Upper 
Peninsula LATA.

October 5, 2001
(MPSC reminds customers that mandatory dialing begins in 989 area code)