Area codes 212, 646, and 332 are area codes in the North American Numbering Plan (NANP) for most of the borough of Manhattan in New York City. By area, it is one of the smallest numbering plan areas (NPAs). [1] The three area codes form an overlay numbering plan, and are also overlaid by area code 917 of a numbering plan area that comprises the entirety of New York City. Area code 212 is the original code assigned for all of the city in 1947. After a restriction of 212 to just Manhattan in 1985, area code 646 was assigned to Manhattan in 1999. In 2015, area code 332 was also added to the Manhattan overlay.
Area code 212 is one of the original North American area codes assigned by AT&T in 1947, originally serving all five boroughs of New York City. For the next 37 years, New York City was one of the largest toll-free calling zones in North America.
On February 1, 1984, in response to a request from New York Telephone, the New York Public Service Commission voted to create a second area code for New York City. The split was implemented in a way that divided the city's three million telephone numbers roughly in half. Brooklyn, Queens and Staten Island received the new area code 718, while Manhattan and the Bronx kept 212. Amid protests from local officials and state lawmakers, the commission was persuaded by New York Telephone's reasoning that a new area code was needed to "prevent an impending exhaustion of telephone numbers." [2] [3]
New York Telephone made some 718 telephone numbers operational several days in advance. [4] Despite state lawmakers for the outer boroughs threatening legislation to stop the division, [3] 718 began its split as scheduled on September 1, 1984. [2] Permissive dialing of 212 continued across New York City, during which either 212 or 718 could be used, until January 1, 1985, when the use of 718 became mandatory for the boroughs affected. [2]
On July 1, 1992, the 718 territory was expanded to include the Bronx and the Marble Hill neighborhood of Manhattan, while the rest of Manhattan remained in 212. Permissive dialing of 212 continued across the Bronx until May 16, 1993, during which either 212 or 718 could be used; after that date, 718 had to be used for telephone calls to the Bronx from everywhere outside the borough except the three boroughs that originally had the 718 code, and Bronx residents telephoning Manhattan had to dial 212. [5] On September 25, 1993, callers from the Bronx no longer had to dial 718 to reach Brooklyn, Queens and Staten Island. [6]
In 1992, the entire city was overlaid with area code 917, which had originally been planned for only the Bronx and mobile service. [7]
With available 917 mobile numbers becoming scarce, area code 646 was implemented on July 1, 1999, as an overlay for Manhattan. [8]
During November 2015, area code 332 was assigned as a third overlay area code for Manhattan, [9] [10] the fourth serving the area and the seventh serving New York City. Area code 332 became active on June 10, 2017, [11] [12] as area code 212 was expected to become depleted of numbers during the third quarter of 2017, [13] [14] and 646 is expected to become depleted of numbers by 2018. [15] This effectively allocates 23.4 million numbers to a borough of 1.6 million people.
The Manhattan neighborhood of Marble Hill is located in the 718/347/929 numbering plan area (NPA), rather than the Manhattan NPA.
Marble Hill, although administratively a part of the Borough of Manhattan, was severed from Manhattan Island by the construction of the Harlem River Ship Canal during 1895. The by-passed segment of the Harlem River was filled in 1914, making the community a geographic part of the Bronx.
When the Bronx was reassigned with area code 718 in 1992, Marble Hill residents fought unsuccessfully to retain 212. Marble Hill's trunks are wired into the Bronx wire center, and it would have been too expensive for New York Telephone to rewire them.
A business with a 212 area code is often perceived as having the prestige of Manhattan and the convenience of stability, [16] [17] particularly if a number has been in service for several decades. An example is 212-736-5000 (PEnnsylvania 6-5000), the number for the Hotel Pennsylvania in Midtown. Prior to its closure in 2020 and subsequent demolition, the hotel claimed it was the oldest telephone number used continuously in New York City, though this is disputed. The owners of the hotel have stated the phone number will remain in use for the new office tower replacing the historic hotel. The hotel's phone number appears as the title of the 1940 Glenn Miller Orchestra hit song "Pennsylvania 6-5000".
Area code 212 is considered prestigious by some Manhattan residents, because of its tradition as the city's original sole area code, and today's scarcity of available telephone numbers. [18] [19] Businesses sell 212-telephone numbers, although it is uncertain whether the customer or the telephone company is the legal owner of a number. [20] In August 2010, AT&T reported that there were no new numbers available for area code 212. [21] Several years prior, new landlines in Manhattan were assigned in the newer area codes, and users ported 212 numbers obtained from online sales. [15]
The North American Numbering Plan (NANP) is a telephone numbering plan for twenty-five regions in twenty countries, primarily in North America and the Caribbean. This group is historically known as World Zone 1 and has the telephone country code 1. Some North American countries, most notably Mexico, do not participate with the NANP.
In telecommunications, an area code overlay complex is a telephone numbering plan that assigns multiple area codes to a geographic numbering plan area (NPA). Area code overlays are implemented in territories of the North American Numbering Plan (NANP) to mitigate exhaustion of central office codes in growth areas. The method has been in use since 1992, and has been the exclusive method of area code relief since 2007.
Ten-digit dialing is a telephone dialing procedure in the countries and territories that are members of the North American Numbering Plan (NANP). It is the practice of including the area code of a telephone number when dialing to initiate a telephone call. When necessary, the ten-digit number may be prefixed with the trunk code 1, which is referred to as 1+10-digit dialing or national format.
Seven-digit dialing is a telephone dialing procedure customary in some territories of the North American Numbering Plan (NANP) for dialing telephone numbers in the same numbering plan area (NPA). NANP telephone numbers consist of ten digits, of which the leading three are the area code. In seven-digit dialing it is not necessary to dial the area code. The procedure is also sometimes known as local format or network format.
Area codes 920 and 274 are telephone area codes in the North American Numbering Plan (NANP) for a large area of eastern Wisconsin. Area code 920 was created on July 26, 1997, in a split of area code 414, one of the original North American area codes of 1947. 274 was added to the same numbering plan area (NPA) on May 5, 2023 to create an area code overlay.
Area code 564 is a telephone overlay area code in the North American Numbering Plan (NANP) for Western Washington state, including metropolitan Seattle. The area code was first proposed in 1999 to relieve telephone number shortages in area code 360, but implementation was delayed until 2017, when it was installed for an overlay complex that comprises only the numbering plan area 360. Neighboring area codes 206, 253, and 425 were slated for expansion of the overlay upon exhaustion of central office codes in each NPA. In 2023, area code 206 was approved for expansion with a guide line for preparation of inclusion of at least nine months. Ten-digit dialing has been mandatory in all of western Washington since July 29, 2017.
Telephone number pooling, thousands-block number pooling, or just number pooling, is a method of allocating telephony numbering space of the North American Numbering Plan in the United States. The method allocates telephone numbers in blocks of 1,000 consecutive numbers of a given central office code to telephony service providers. In the United States it replaced the practice of allocating all 10,000 numbers of a central office prefix at a time. Under number pooling, the entire prefix is assigned to a rate center, to be shared among all providers delivering services in that rate center. Number pooling reduced the quantity of unused telephone numbers in markets which have been fragmented between multiple service providers, avoided central office prefix exhaustion in high growth areas, and extended the lifetime of the North American telephone numbering plan without structure changes of telephone numbers. Telephone number pooling was first tested for area code 847 in Illinois in June 1998, and became national policy in a series of Federal Communications Commission (FCC) orders from 2000 to 2003.
Area code 917 is a telephone area code in the North American Numbering Plan for the five boroughs of New York City: The Bronx, Brooklyn, Manhattan, Queens, and Staten Island. It is an overlay code to all numbering plan areas (NPAs) in the city, and was intended to serve cellular, pager, and voicemail applications in the city, a restriction that was subsequently ruled impermissible by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) while grandfathering that use in New York City. Area code 917 is also assigned to landlines predominantly in Manhattan, to relieve the shortage of numbers there.
Area codes 909 and 840 are telephone area codes in the North American Numbering Plan for the far-eastern part of Los Angeles County and southwestern San Bernardino County in the U.S. state of California. Area code 909 was created on November 14, 1992, in an area code split of 714, and 840 was added to the numbering plan area to form an overlay complex effective February 23, 2021.
Area codes 516 and 363 are telephone overlay area codes in the North American Numbering Plan (NANP) for the U.S. state of New York. The numbering plan area (NPA) comprises Nassau County on Long Island. Area code 516 was created in 1951 and 363 was added to the numbering plan area in 2023.
Area codes 718, 347, and 929 are telephone area codes in the North American Numbering Plan (NANP) for the New York City boroughs of the Bronx, Brooklyn, Queens, and Staten Island, as well as the Marble Hill section of Manhattan. They are part of a larger overlay plan with area code 917, which comprises all of New York City.
Area code 562 is a California telephone area code that was split from area code 310 on January 25, 1997. It is the area code for much of southeastern Los Angeles County, including Long Beach, and parts of northern Orange County.
Area codes 608 and 353 are telephone area codes in the North American Numbering Plan for much of southwestern Wisconsin, including the state capital city Madison. Area code 608 was assigned in 1955 to a numbering plan area created from areas with area code 414 and area code 715, and was the third area code created in Wisconsin. Rapid growth of the area, specifically in Dane County, brought the area code close to exhaustion of central office prefixes, with NANPA projections in 2022 projecting the need for relief by late 2023. In September 2022, the Wisconsin Public Service Commission and North American Numbering Plan Administrator (NANPA) announced an overlay complex for the numbering plan area with new area code 353, with an in-service date of September 15, 2023. New central office code orders were accepted starting on July 11, 2023, but activatlon is contingent on complete exhaustion of central office codes for 608.
Area codes 813 and 656 are area codes in the North American Numbering Plan for the U.S. state of Florida in the city of Tampa, Florida, and its surrounding areas, such as Zephyrhills and Oldsmar. In 2022, due to exhaustion of central office prefixes, area code 656 was added to the service area forming an overlay complex.
Area codes 876 and 658 are telephone area codes in the North American Numbering Plan (NANP) for Jamaica.
Area codes 306, 639, and 474 are telephone area codes in the North American Numbering Plan (NANP) for the entire Canadian province of Saskatchewan. Area code 306 is one of the original North American area codes assigned in 1947. Area codes 639 and 474 were added to the numbering plan area in creation of an overlay complex for the entire province in 2013 and 2021, respectively. The incumbent local exchange carrier is SaskTel.
Area code 709 is the telephone area code in the North American Numbering Plan (NANP) for the entire Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador.
Area codes 301, 240, and 227 are telephone area codes in the North American Numbering Plan (NANP) for the western part of the U.S. state of Maryland. The numbering plan area (NPA) comprises Maryland's portion of the Greater Washington, D.C. metro area, portions of southern Maryland, along with rural western Maryland. This includes the communities of Cumberland, Frederick, Hagerstown, Gaithersburg, Potomac, Germantown, Bethesda, Rockville, Landover, Silver Spring, and Waldorf.
Area codes 609 and 640 are telephone overlay area codes in the North American Numbering Plan (NANP) for the central and southern parts of the U.S. state of New Jersey. The numbering plan area includes the cities of Trenton, Princeton, Ewing, Hamilton, and southeastern parts of the state and the Jersey Shore, including Atlantic City and Long Beach Island. In terms of geographic coverage, it is the largest numbering plan area in New Jersey. Area code 609 was created in a split of area code 201 in c. 1956. Area code 640 is an additional area code for the area, created on September 17, 2018.
Area codes 587, 825, and 368 are telephone area codes in the North American Numbering Plan (NANP) for the entire Canadian province of Alberta. They form an overlay with area code 403 of southern Alberta, and northern Alberta's 780. The complex overlay involving a total of five area codes in Alberta mandated ten-digit dialing throughout the province.
North: 347/718/929/917 | ||
West: 201/551 | 212/332/646, 917 | East: 347/718/929/917 |
South: 347/718/929/917 | ||
New Jersey area codes: 201/551, 609/640, 732/848, 856, 862/973, 908 |