A new 548 area code is coming to Windsor and other locations in southwestern Ontario this week.

The new digits will be distributed to regions currently using area codes 226 and 519 in southwestern Ontario.

The new area code is the result of a Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission decision and is intended to meet the continuously growing demand for new telephone numbers.

“The new area code will be introduced gradually across southwestern Ontario once there is no longer a sufficient supply of numbers with the existing area codes – 226 and 519,” said Glen Brown, spokesperson for the Canadian Numbering Administrator, in a news release.

The new area code will be available starting June 4.

Brown says telephone numbers will not change, but subscribers may be offered a phone number with the 548 area code when they contact their provider for new or additional services.

The introduction of a new area code in a region does not affect the local calling areas or the way long distance calls are dialed. Special numbers like 911 will still be dialed using only three digits.

The 226 and 519 area codes cover most of southwestern Ontario, including London, Windsor, Kitchener-Waterloo, Guelph, Brantford, Sarnia, Woodstock, Stratford and Owen Sound.