UpDate - Vol. 11, No. 17, Page 1
January 23, 1992
New phone prefixes in place

     The Jan. 18 phone changeover to new prefixes on the Newark
campus was off and ringing in record time, according to Susan J.
Foster, assocate vice president, Computing Network Services.
     According to plan, the transition to the new exchanges--831
(UD1) for faculty, administrative and staff phones and 837 (UDS)
for student phones--was to have taken from 7-11 a.m., Saturday.
     In actuality, Foster said, the changeover went smoothly, was
much faster than anticipated and all 8,000-plus University lines
were in operation by 8:45 a.m.
     The new exchanges are the result of a changeover by Diamond
State Telephone Co. to a new, sophisticated digital switch.
     An intercept message tells callers to the old prefixes about
the changeover. This message was in place by Saturday night for
student phones and by Monday noon for academic and administrative
offices, she said.
     There has been a lot of action on the special "6655" hotline
set up to handle inquiries and problems encountered as the result
of the changeover.
     "The campus community has been cooperative and understanding
during this process of change, and that has helped make this
transition a smooth one," Foster said. "We will be working with
Diamond State personnel in the weeks ahead to iron out any problems
as they arise and we will be communicating through future issues of
UpDate with the campus community to alert them to system changes
they may encounter.
     "Persons who have questions or concerns are urged to call the
hotline at 6655," she said.