Area code 917

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The blue area is New York State (outside the City of New York); the red area is area code 917 and overlay Area code 917.svg
The blue area is New York State (outside the City of New York); the red area is area code 917 and overlay

Area code 917 is a telephone area code in the North American Numbering Plan (NANP) for the entirety of New York City. It is an overlay code to all numbering plan areas (NPAs) in the city.

Contents

History

The original area code for all of New York City's boroughs was area code 212, established when the American Telephone and Telegraph Company (AT&T) divided the North American continent into a system of numbering plan areas (NPAs) in 1947, to facilitate efficient automated long-distance telephone service with Operator Toll Dialing.

In 1984, the numbering plan area was divided by splitting Brooklyn, Queens, and Staten Island into a separate numbering plan area with area code 718, reducing 212 to only Manhattan and the Bronx.

In 1990, the New York Telephone Company wanted to assign a new area code, 917, to all cellphones and pagers in Manhattan and all telephone lines in the Bronx, to relieve number shortages in Manhattan, but the New York Public Service Commission denied the request. [1] The restriction to mobile services was ruled impermissible by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) which grandfathered that use in New York City.

Instead, in 1992, area code 212 was restricted for use in Manhattan only. The Bronx, along with the small exchange area of Marble Hill, was integrated into 718. All boroughs were provided with the additional area code 917, arranged in an overlay complex.

Introduced on February 4, 1992, [2] area code 917 was the first overlay area code in the North American Numbering Plan. When it was established, all cellphones in New York City were switched to 917, freeing up telephone numbers for additional landlines. [3]

Shortly after the establishment of the 917 code, the FCC ruled that restriction of area codes to particular types of service was prohibited, but the instance of 917 remained exempt. [4]

See also

References

  1. ↑ McFadden, Robert D. "917 Area Code Is Proposed For the Bronx". The New York Times . June 5, 1990.
  2. ↑ "Bell Atlantic Ready to Introduce New 347 Area Code; New Area Code to Join 718 to Serve The Bronx, Brooklyn, Queens and Staten Island". Verizon News Archives. 1999-09-13. Archived from the original on 2021-11-28. Retrieved 2019-04-20.
  3. ↑ "NANP-Introduction of the 917 Numbering Plan Area (NPA) in New York City and Transfer of the Bronx, New York, from the 212 NPA to the 718 NPA" (PDF). NANPA. Bellcore.
  4. ↑ Third Report and Order and Second Order on Reconsideration in CC Docket No. 96-98 and CC Docket No. 99-200 (PDF). Washington, DC: Federal Communications Commission. December 12, 2001 [released December 28, 2001]. para. 75. FCC 01-362. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2025-02-15. Published in 17 FCC Rcd at 286, para. 75.
New York area codes: 212/332/646, 315/680, 363/516, 518/838, 585, 607, 631/934, 624/716, 347/718/929, 329/845, 914, 917
North: 914, 845, 203/475
West: 201/551, 862/973, 908 917 (overlays 212/332/646 and 347/718/929) East: 516, 631
South: 732/848
New Jersey area codes: 201/551, 609/640, 732/848, 856, 908, 852/973
Connecticut area codes: 203/475, 860/959

40°43′42″N73°59′39″W / 40.72833°N 73.99417°W / 40.72833; -73.99417

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