NEW YORK (AFNS) -- Air Force members and their families who call Panama will need to dial an extra digit, starting June 3, AT&T; announced. All local six-digit telephone numbers will require an additional digit and in some cases result in a different sequence of numbers.
A direct-dialed call to Panama City to the number 29-9999, for example, will become 229-9999. For Calobre, 99-9999 will become 959-9999 and for San Loren, 71-1999 will become 726-1999.
The changes are necessary to meet a growing demand for additional telephone service throughout the country, according to INTEL, the local telephone authority.
Military people in the United States who dial 011 (the international access code), 507 (Panama's country code) and the old six-digit number will hear a recorded message in English and Spanish that says, "Due to a numbering change, the call to the country you are dialing cannot be completed a dialed. Please call your AT&T; operator for assistance at 10-288-0 (10-ATT-0)." AT&T; customers trying to find a party's new seven-digit telephone number can do so by dialing an AT&T; operator.