Once again, progress has a down side when it comes to telephone service.

The proliferation of telephones means that we need more numbers, and that prompted the Public Utility Commission last year to approve a new area code for the 541 area.

But in order to avoid anybody having to get used to a new code - changing stationery and business cards and such - the new code will apply only to some new numbers as this becomes necessary.

For telephone users, that means we'll have to dial 10 digits instead of seven even for a local call. This will be a mild aggravation, but it will continue indefinitely.

The change to 10-digit local dialing will become mandatory on Jan. 10, 2010. But you can get used to the practice starting this July 12. That's when the phone company would like us all to start using the 10-digit number for local calls, even though a seven-digit call will still go through.

The alternative would have been to split the 541 area in two. This would have entailed a one-time inconvenience and expense for roughly half the telephone customers in the area, but after that it would have been over and done within, and the other half would not have been affected at all. The PUC decided that it was better to inconvenience everybody in 541 indefinitely than to annoy half the population only once.

Whether this was the right choice or not, you'll be able to determine as you let your fingers do the walking - and walking - starting next year. (hh)