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Since You Asked: We apparently really needed another area code Wednesday Dec 21, 2016 at 12:01 AM I noticed the new RAM restaurant has a phone number with a 458 area code. Is that the new area code promised for Southern Oregon so many years ago? — Ben F., Medford Adding three numerals to your digital lexicon may be confusing. So try equating new area codes to elbow room. For decades, the state of Oregon got by with a single area code. But times have changed — there are now four-million plus Oregonians, and according to state Driver and Motor Vehicle figures, more are on the way. All those new folks and the places where they hang out — for work, play and recuperation — often need phone numbers. Oregon was assigned a 503 area code by AT&T and Bell Laboratories shortly after World War II. That proved enough until Nov. 5, 1995, when the populous northwest corner retained the legacy AC, while the Oregon Public Utilities Commission awarded the rest of the state the 541 designation.  It didn't take Portland's teeming tech world long to surpass its need for telephone exchanges (those three numbers that generally signify where you lived in the landline days) and a 971 area code overlay was created in 1999. By 2008, the abundance of cellphones, pagers, fax machines and other telecommunication devices led OPUC to approve a fourth area code. While it went into effect Feb. 10, 2010, the greatest impact for almost everyone for the next few years was switching to 10-digit dialing. The first exchange in area code 458 was in Eugene during August 2011. In the past five years, new exchanges have been added in Deschutes, Hood River, Lane and Jackson counties. While there are a handful of established local businesses such as Keith Schulz Garage and Aaron's Autowerks with the new area code, the RAM restaurant was the first that popped up in a Google search. The portability of telephone numbers has created a hodgepodge allowing newcomers to keep their existing lines, so many people are used to a plethora of area codes. Some business phone systems have had to be reprogrammed to recognize 458, including ours. But then, a few Mail Tribuners still have business cards with a 503 area code, neatly stacked right next to our Olivetti's and rotary phones. — Send questions to “Since You Asked,” Mail Tribune Newsroom, P.O. Box 1108, Medford, OR 97501; by fax to 541-776-4376; or by email to [email protected]. To see a collection of columns, go to mailtribune.com/youasked. We’re sorry, but the volume of questions received prevents us from answering all of them.