Oregon University System Telephone Dialing Changes

What is being changed?

12 dialed digits will soon be required to call telephone extensions at other Oregon University System (OUS) campuses.  You will dial other OUS campuses from UO phones just as you do any other non-local Oregon telephone number.

Why are we doing this?

Some of the OUS campuses need to add new extension numbers to accommodate expansion.  They cannot do this without overlapping existing blocks of 5 digit extensions.  In other words, we’ve run out of unique 5 digit extension numbers.

When will this change happen?

Inter-institution 5 digit dialing will be discontinued on July 1, 2003.

12 digit inter-institution calls will be enabled on March 1, 2003.

Both dialing options will work from March through the end of June.

Will I still be able do dial people on campus with just a 5 digit extension?

Yes.  If you are calling from a 346-xxxx number to another 346-xxxx number, you will still be able to dial using just the 5 digit extension number.

How do I find the 10 digit number of people I call at other OUS campuses?

There are three ways to do this :

Lookup Table – We have put together a table which lists extension numbers and their associated 10 digit telephone numbers.  It’s sorted by both extension and institution name.

Web Based Extension Converter    This web site will do the conversion for you and provide additional information regarding voice mail addressing (see below).

Campus Directories – Some OUS institutions have web based directories which will let you look up telephone numbers from person or department names.  We’ve put together some links to these directories for you.

What else do I need to change?

Any devices which dial a non–UO 5 digit number will need to be changed.  This includes abbreviated dial buttons on your telephone, fax machines, speed dial entries, voice mail distribution lists (see below), modem configurations, etc.

Will voice mail be affected?

Yes.  Right now, the 12 OUS voice mail systems all behave (to the users at least) as one big system.  You can forward messages to users at other schools as though they were local.  These features will change.  To forward a message to someone at another campus after June 30th, you will need to enter their entire 10 digit telephone number as well as an extra digit which specifies which voice mail system number on their campus. You will not hear their name after you enter the number as you do now.  Voice mail messages forwarded to you from off campus will no longer have the sender’s name in the header.

If you have any distribution lists in your voice mail account, any entries for people at other OUS schools will need to be changed to include their full 10 digit number and the extra voice mail system digit.

The web based conversion engine will let you lookup a dial string to use to forward voice mail messages to someone at another OUS school or include them in a voice mail distribution list.  Keep in mind that the “9” prefix should not be added when addressing voice mail messages.

Will a long distance authorization code be required to dial other campuses?

If you do not need to enter an authorization code to dial other campuses now, you will not need to enter one after the changes on July 1.

Will calls between OUS campuses cost more once 10 digits are required?

No.  They will cost the same as they do now.  Even though most users don’t need to dial a long distance authorization code, we do bill the calls at long distance rates.

Will caller names still appear on digital sets with calls received from other OUS campuses?

Yes.  There will be no changes to the names and number displays. 

Who do I contact if I have more questions?

Call Telecom Services at 6-3198 or contact Eric Fullar at 346-1015.