The New Global Dialing Plan

Everyday we receive multiple emails from our IT department informing us of changes – but half the time I don’t understand them. Usually they are about server upgrades, system outages, and have a string of acronyms to further confuse the reader. However, the one below is about the phone system – something I get - yet they still manage to confuse me. Here’s portions of the original, and below is my interpretation (also based on previous experience with our current phone system).

"The IT Communications Infrastructure Team has scheduled a series of upgrades to our existing phone system to begin implementing a Global Dial Plan. When the Global Dial Plan is fully implemented it will allow for 7-digit dialing between major campus sites worldwide.
…

When your site is converted to the 7-digit plan all phone extensions will have a "11" added to the beginning of the existing extension.

This will not impact any external calls and you will still be able to use the current 5-digit extensions for calls between the following sites:

San Mateo / Dublin (CA)
Ft Lauderdale
Rancho Cordova
St Petersburg
…

My Interpretation
When dialing Rancho you need to dial 5 digits, but when calling Canada you need to dial 7-digits (if you can guess what they are). This will not have any impact on your site except for the fact that sometimes you have to dial 5-digits, and sometimes 7. But there will also be times when you need to dial 12 (don't forget the 9) and even more if you dial someone's cell phone in another country. Cell phones will not be affected by the new dial plan. They will still only work sporadically. But you can try dialing 7-digits. If you cannot reach someone in the US, try dialing 11 before their old extension, but please be sure not to dial 11 after a 9. If you would like to reach 911 please dial 9911, and if this doesn't work, try dialing 119911, and if that doesn't work, please add one more digit, so that you are dialing 7-digits. Don't call us, we'll call you, and don't even try to contact our office in New York.