Area codes 876 and 658

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NANP numbering plan area 876/658

Area codes 876 and 658 are telephone area codes in the North American Numbering Plan (NANP) for Jamaica.

Contents

Having telephone service to the United States as early as 1936, it was not until 1962 that Jamaica had a high-capacity link for dial service to the US network, which was operated as part of the NANP numbering plan area 809. 809 was designated for parts of the Caribbean region in 1958, and was divided in the 1990s for service to individual countries. Area code 876 was created on 1 May 1997 for Jamaica. [1] In 2019, the numbering plan area received a second area code, 658, in formation of an overlay to relieve central office code exhaustion.

The telephone country code for reaching telephone numbers in the country is 1. From other NANP member regions, the dialing pattern is 1-876/658 NXX-XXXX, where 1 is the NANP long-distance trunk prefix.

History

In 1936, AT&T installed the first telephone service extensions to Puerto Rico, Jamaica, and El Salvador in the Caribbean. [2]

In 1958, Bermuda and the Caribbean Islands were designated as a large numbering plan area (NPA) with area code 809 as part of a comprehensive North American telephone numbering plan first defined in 1947 by the American Telephone and Telegraph Company in cooperation with the independent telephone operators in the United States and Canada.

It was not until 1962 that a high-capacity undersea telephone cable was installed between Jamaica and the United States for dial service. [2] For over three decades, Jamaica participated in the North American numbering system with a set of three-digit central office codes that had the digit 9 in the leading position, that were routed with area code 809.

In 1996, the Jamaican government requested and were granted by Bellcore, the NANP administration, the assignment of a new and separate area code for the country. Area code 876 was created on 1 May 1997, by a split of NPA 809. [1] In the process area code 809 was removed from the country and existing central office codes were reassigned with the new area code. A permissive dialing period during which central office codes could be reached with either area code began on 1 May 1997 and ended 31 July 1998, [3] after being extended from 1 November 1997.

On 15 September 2016, the Office of Utilities Regulation approved an area code overlay in relief of central office code exhaustion in the country. Area code 658 was scheduled for service on 30 November 2018. This was subsequently postponed until 30 April 2019. Ten-digit dialing was permissive from 31 May, becoming mandatory on 30 March 2019, [4] The first numbers in area code 658 were not assigned until May 2023. [5]

The country has been served by two mobile operators – Cable & Wireless/Liberty Global (marketed as FLOW Jamaica) and Digicel. The country's main landline provider is FLOW, as well as other smaller landline players like Digicel.

Fraud

The 876 area code was linked to a form of telephone fraud known as the "one ring scam". The person perpetuating the scam called the victim via a robodialer or similar means, sometimes at odd hours of the night, then hung up when the phone was answered with the hope that they would be curious enough to call the number back. When the victim did this, substantial international call charges could accrue. Similar scams have been linked to Grenada (area code 473), Antigua (268), the Dominican Republic (809, 829, and 849), and the British Virgin Islands (284). [6]

The telephone fraud in Jamaica is a primary topic of the episode "Jamaican Lottery Scam" of the television series American Greed .

See also

Related Research Articles

Telecommunications in Jamaica include the fixed and mobile telephone networks, radio, television, and the Internet.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">North American Numbering Plan</span> Integrated telephone numbering plan of twenty North American countries

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Area codes 314 and 557</span> Telephone area code for St. Louis, Missouri

Area codes 314 and 557 are telephone area codes in the North American Numbering Plan (NANP) in the U.S. state of Missouri, serving the city of St. Louis and most of its inner-ring suburbs in neighboring St. Louis County. The numbering plan area is bordered to the west by area code 636, which serves St. Louis' outer suburbs to the west, south, and north. Across the Mississippi River to the east, 314 is adjacent to area code 618, which serves southern Illinois and most of Metro East. Area code 557 was added to the 314 numbering plan area on August 12, 2022, to form an overlay numbering plan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Area codes 561 and 728</span> Telephone area code in Palm Beach County, Florida

Area codes 561 and 728 are telephone area codes in the North American Numbering Plan (NANP) for Palm Beach County in the U.S. state of Florida. 561 was created on May 13, 1996, in a split of area code 407. The numbering plan area (NPA) comprises nearly every major city in the county, the largest of which being West Palm Beach, Boca Raton, Wellington, Boynton Beach, Jupiter, Delray Beach, and Belle Glade. On March 10, 2023, area code 728 was added to the same numbering plan area to form an all-services distributed overlay.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Area codes 920 and 274</span> Area code in eastern Wisconsin, United States

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Area codes 909 and 840</span> Area codes in southern California, United States

Area codes 909 and 840 are telephone area codes in the North American Numbering Plan for the far-eastern part of Los Angeles County southwestern San Bernardino County, and a small portion of Riverside County in the U.S. state of California. Area code 909 was created on November 14, 1992, in an area code split of 909, and 840 was added to the numbering plan area to form an overlay complex effective February 23, 2021. While most of western Riverside County now uses Area code 951, some residents in Eastvale and Corona were allowed to keep the 909 area code after the split in 2004.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Area codes 516 and 363</span> Area code in Nassau County, New York, United States

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, while area code 363 was added to the numbering plan area in 2023.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Area codes 202 and 771</span> Area codes for Washington, D.C.

Area codes 202 and 771 are telephone area codes in the North American Numbering Plan (NANP) for Washington, D.C.

Area code 441 is the telephone area code in the North American Numbering Plan (NANP) for Bermuda. The numbering plan area (NPA) was created on 1 October 1995 in a split of area code 809.

Area code 268 is the telephone area code in the North American Numbering Plan (NANP) for Antigua and Barbuda.

Area code 246 is the telephone area code in the North American Numbering Plan (NANP) for Barbados. The sequence 246 spells BIM on an alpha-numeric telephone keypad, a nickname for the island.

Area code 284 is the telephone area code in the North American Numbering Plan (NANP) for the British Virgin Islands (BVI). The numbering plan area (NPA) was created in a split of area code 809 on 1 October 1997, when a permissive dialing period existed until 30 September 1998.

Area code 473 is the local telephone area code of Grenada, Carriacou and Petite Martinique. The 473 area code, which spells GRE, was created during a split from the original area code 809 which began permissive dialing on 31 October 1997 and ended 31 October 1998.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Area codes 408 and 669</span> Area codes that serve the southern San Francisco Bay Area, California

Area codes 408 and 669 are telephone area codes in the North American Numbering Plan (NANP) in the U.S. state of California. The numbering plan area comprises most of Santa Clara County and Northern Santa Cruz County, and includes Gilroy, Morgan Hill, Saratoga, Los Gatos, Monte Sereno, Milpitas, Sunnyvale, Santa Clara, Cupertino, Campbell, and San Jose.

The integration of the Caribbean telephone networks into the North American Numbering Plan (NANP) began with the assignment of area codes in the Caribbean in 1958, when area code 809 was designated for Bermuda and any other potential participant island countries.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Area codes 513 and 283</span> Area code in southwest Ohio, US

Area codes 513 and 283 are telephone area codes in the North American Numbering Plan (NANP) for the southwest of the U.S. state of Ohio, including Cincinnati and surrounding cities, such as Forest Park, Hamilton, Lebanon, West Chester, Mason, Maineville, Middletown, Milford, Norwood, Oxford, Harrison, Cleves, Miamitown and Trenton.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Area codes 816 and 975</span> Area code in northwestern Missouri, United States

Area codes 816 and 975 are telephone area codes in the North American Numbering Plan (NANP) for most of the Missouri side of the Kansas City metropolitan area, the St. Joseph area, and all or part of 15 surrounding counties in northwestern Missouri. The numbering plan area originally comprised most of the northern and western two-thirds of the state, bordering with Arkansas, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Nebraska, and Oklahoma, but has been reduced to a ribbon bordering Kansas. 816 is one of the original 86 area codes created in 1947. The numbering plan area was converted to an overlay complex with area code 975 in 2023.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Area codes 864 and 821</span> Area codes in upstate South Carolina, United States

Area codes 864 and 821 are telephone area codes in the North American Numbering Plan (NANP) for the western third of the U.S. state of South Carolina. The numbering plan area (NPA) comprises the areas of Greenville, Spartanburg, Anderson, and twelve surrounding counties. Other cities in the 864/821 territory include Clemson, Gaffney, Greer, and Mauldin. It is largely coextensive with the Upstate region.

The expansion of the North American Numbering Plan (NANP) is the anticipated requirement for providing more telephone numbers to accommodate future needs beyond the pool of ten-digit telephone numbers. Ten-digit telephone numbers have been in use in the United States and Canada in long-distance telephone service since the 1950s. An October 2020 analysis estimated that the numbering plan would not be exhausted until after 2050.

Area codes 809, 829, and 849 are telephone area codes in the North American Numbering Plan (NANP) for the Dominican Republic. Like all NANP members, the Dominican Republic uses country code 1, and has similar dialing procedures for dialing the 10-digit national telephone numbers, which consist of the area code, a three-digit central office code, and a four-digit line number. The three area codes of the country are organized as an overlay plan for a single numbering plan area (NPA), comprising the entire country. Thus, 10-digit dialing is mandatory.

References

  1. 1 2 Deak, J. N. (1996-10-09). "PL-NANP-014: NANP - Introduction of New 876 (Jamaica) Numbering Plan Area (NPA)" (scanned image as PDF). NANPA: North American Numbering Plan Administrator. NANPA. Retrieved 2023-05-18.
  2. 1 2 AT&T (1974), Events in Telephone History, AT&T Public Relations Department (New York)
  3. ↑ "PL-525: NPA 658 to Overlay NPA 876 (Jamaica) – Permissive Dialing Date Change [supersedes PL-510]" (PDF). NANPA: North American Numbering Plan Administrator. NANPA. 2018-11-19. Retrieved 2023-05-18.
  4. ↑ "NPA 658 to Overlay NPA 876 (Jamaica)" (PDF). nationalnanpa.com. August 25, 2017. Retrieved 28 August 2023.
  5. ↑ "OUR assigns Central Office Code under 658 Area Code". Jamaica Observer. 2023-05-17.
  6. ↑ "BBB Warns of One Ring Cell Phone Scam". Archived from the original on 2014-02-19. Retrieved 2014-02-02.
Jamaica area codes: 876/658
North: Country code +53 in Cuba
West: 345 Area code 876, 658 East: Country code +509 in Haiti
South: Caribbean Sea
Cayman Islands area codes: 345

18°10′09″N77°22′11″W / 18.1691°N 77.3698°W / 18.1691; -77.3698

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