Are you ready to date him exclusively? How do you go from casual dating to commitment? Is he ready to commit to a real relationship with one woman? To get the commitment you want you need to do your part.
It's been long enough for you and it's time to be exclusive with him for this relationship to become anything other than a waste of time. Half the distance to commitment is you and what you bring to him. Who you are is a big part of his decision to continue dating you. A man doesn't want a woman with no life of her own or a complete mess that can't get her life together. The problems in your own life affect your happiness and attitudes that make a person hard to date. Happiness is a big part of personality and becoming a desirable match. When it's time to be exclusive you have to be ready to handle it.
Desperation is not attractive. Desperation makes you annoying from the clinginess and emotional dependence on him to be happy. Each one of us is responsible for our own happiness. The time to be exclusive shouldn't be decided because you're lonely. There will be times when you can't be together and he can't be on the phone all day, it's up to you to make friends in your life, visit family, have hobbies, and find ways to make you smile when a relationship can't. A relationship should be an added bonus to your life, not the only reason for happiness.
Get a few good dates in and test the waters to see if this could possibly work as a relationship. Conversation here will tell you what he has to offer and if you are compatible. If you have nothing in common and you can't get a good conversation going, it just won't work because he isn't the one for you or he is incapable of making the effort to let commitment work. It's time to be exclusive and ditch the men who can't commit.