The Associated Press

FRANKFORT - The Kentucky Public Service Commission is investigating why phone calls from land lines to cellular phone exchanges are being treated as long-distance calls.

The PSC has received more than 100 complaints from people whose cell phones can no longer be reached from their home calling area with a local call. The callers must dial an 11-digit long-distance call. Depending on individual circumstances, such as a consumer's choice of cell and local phone service, those calls also may be billed at long-distance rates.

The dialing changes are the result of a decision by the Federal Communications Commission, effective Nov. 24, that changed the way cell numbers are assigned.

In response, BellSouth has initiated 11-digit dialing for certain calls to cellular phones.

The dialing changes include only the 502 area code but are set to include other areas within the next several weeks.

"The implications of this issue were not apparent to us when BellSouth filed the tariff making the changes," PSC executive director Tom Dorman said. "Now that we see the effects, we believe there is ample reason to investigate."

The problem is based on the way cell phone numbers are assigned. A cell phone sold in Frankfort, for example, may be assigned a number in a Louisville exchange. Calls to that cell phone from Frankfort then must be routed through Louisville.