Scheduled phone upgrade to cause 6-hour outage Published Jan. 17, 2007 By Airman Nathan Riley 28th Bomb Wing Public Affairs ELLSWORTH AFB, S.D. -- As part of a base wide telephone upgrade, a six-hour phone outage is scheduled for Jan. 19 from 7 p.m. to 1 a.m. This outage affects all Ellsworth phones with a "385" prefix. The upgrade comes at an opportune time. The Air Force mandated the change to a seven-digit number system and new lines also need to be created to support the Air Force Financial Services Center. "We are upgrading (partially) to provide 2,500 additional phone lines to support the financial center," explained Capt. Christopher Willis, 28th Communications Squadron operations and support flight commander. The upgrade will provide new lines but will also require callers to dial 98, instead of 95, when connecting to long-distance. All 385-XXXX numbers will be replaced by the seven-digit system during the phone outage, which will require callers to dial 385 instead of 5 for inter-base calls. "(The purpose) is to increase flexibility and improve standardization so there aren't as many changes when people move from base to base," said Lt. Col. Eric Silbaugh, 28th Communication Squadron commander. Certain base agencies will have alternative communication during this outage. They are as follows: Command Post: (605) 348-2374 Fire Department: (605) 341-2940 Medical Group Clinic Control Center: (605) 431-2924; they will also monitor the crash net through land mobile radio with a dispatch through the fire department. Security Forces Squadron: (605) 431-3018 911 will not be affected by this outage. For more information, call Captain Willis at 385-1056.