University Times

Five-digit dialing between University and UPMC phone numbers is coming to an end. As of March 31, callers from Pitt will need to dial 9, followed by the 10-digit phone number to reach UPMC lines.

Speed dialers and autodial keys will need to be reprogrammed to reflect the changes.

Although calls will be dialed as if they were local calls, they will remain free of charge, said Jinx Walton, head of Computing Services and Systems Development.

Growth in the UPMC phone system is forcing the change, Walton said. “The availability of phone numbers is really limited. Everyone knew at some point we’d have to go to 10-digit dialing,” she said.

Because UPMC has decided to require 10-digit dialing for calls to the University, Pitt must implement it as well for calls from University lines to UPMC in order to stay current as numbers change or new numbers are added to the UPMC system.

UPMC numbers affected are in the following (area code 412) exchanges: 246, 586, 605, 647, 692 and 802.

Complicating the issue is that UPMC has more than 1,000 numbers in Pitt’s 383, 624 and 682 exchanges. Callers trying to use 5-digit dialing to reach those numbers will receive a message stating that they will need to dial 10 digits, Walton said.

Special provisions have been made to allow UPMC callers to connect to the University police by dialing 4-2121 or 8-2121 and for Pitt lines to dial UPMC security by calling 7-3131.

Additional information and a list of frequently asked questions is available online at http://technology.pitt.edu.

—Kimberly K. Barlow