Saskatchewan is adding a new extension for phone numbers in the province, which is the three starting digits in every phone number since the province switched to a ten-number dialing system back in 2012.

The new 474 extension will join 306 and 639 in being the first few numbers for phones in Saskatchewan.

Though officially the 474 number began use back on October 2nd, the rollout has been slower since only new phone numbers will have the extension.

Sasktel External communications manager Lindsay Mazenc details some of the processes behind the extension.

"It's the Canadian number administrator that advises the CRTC that based on forecasts that they have that a province will run out of area codes," said Mazenc, So the Canadian number administrator, it was actually in May of 2018, that they projected SaskTel would run out of 306 and 639 area codes.

"So once that process starts then the CRTC issues a notice that a new area code will come into effect and that's what brings us to where we are today."

The previous new area code, 639, was introduced back in 2012.

Mazenc says that since Saskatchewan already went through that change, introducing the new number will go smoothly.

"It'll pretty much be another number. you know, we've done this before now, you know this is the third area code coming through," said Mazenc, "All of the major changes would've happened in 2012 when we had to update that new area code and that's also when we introduced ten-digit dialing so everyone's used to dialing in that ten digits by now."

Sasktel also predicts that the majority of new numbers that have the 474 will be coming from providers other than themselves.

Mazenc says that you should expect to see a few of these new numbers by early 2022.