Area codes 813 and 656arearea codesin theNorth American Numbering Planfor theU.S. stateofFloridain the city ofTampa, Florida,and its surrounding areas, such asZephyrhillsandOldsmar.In 2022, due to exhaustion of central office prefixes, area code 656 was added to the service area forming anoverlay complex.[1]
Service area
editArea codes 656 and 813 are assigned to anumbering plan area(NPA) that comprises all ofHillsborough County,the city ofOldsmarinPinellas County,and the central and southeastern portions ofPasco County.The northeastern portion of Pasco County hasarea code 352,while the western portion usesarea code 727.
History
editIn 1947, theAmerican Telephone and Telegraph Company(AT&T) announced the first nationwidetelephone numbering planand divided the United States and Canada into 86 numbering plan areas and assigned theoriginal North American area codes,a unique code for each area, to speed the connection times forOperator Toll Dialing.
The state of Florida was a single numbering plan area with area code 305. In 1953, with the development ofDirect Distance Dialing,the western part of the peninsula from theTampa Bay areasouth, which was serviced mostly byGeneral Telephone(GTE), was designated as a separate numbering plan area witharea code 813.[2]The new number plan area stretched along the Gulf Coast fromPasco CountytoCollier Countyand included the cities ofSt. Petersburg,Sarasota,Fort Myers,andLakeland.
On May 28, 1995, thirteen counties south and east of Hillsborough County, fromManatee Countyto Collier County, split from the numbering plan area 813 after 39 years in the coverage area and were assignedarea code 941.
Although the 1995 split was intended to be a long-term solution, within only three years, 813 was close to exhaustion again because of the rapid growth of telephone service in theTampa Bay areaand the proliferation of cell phones and pagers. TheFlorida Public Service Commissiondecided to assignarea code 727as another area code for the region. It was originally planned to be anoverlayon 813. However, overlays were still a new concept, and the mixing of area codes in the same region, and the resulting requirement forten-digit dialing,met considerable resistance. As a result, the area of most ofPinellas County(except Oldsmar) and westernPasco Countywere split off on February 1, 1999 and received area code 727.[3]
Oldsmar kept area code 813 despite being in Pinellas. Oldsmar was a tributary service area to the Tampa area, and tributary routes were in general not cut across NPA boundaries. Oldsmar is also located on the Pinellas/Hillsborough line, and was the only local exchange that was a local call to both cities. Most of thedialup Internetaccess numbers and alarm system reporting numbers in Tampa and St. Petersburg were located in Oldsmar. GTE and theFlorida Public Service Commissionwanted to spare alarm companies and ISPs the cost of reprogramming and replacing systems that could not handle 10 digit dialing.[citation needed]
In 2022, the available telephone numbers for area code 813 were expected to be exhausted during the third quarter of 2022.[4]As a result, the North American Numbering Plan Administrator authorized an "all services overlay", which was approved by theFlorida Public Service Commissionon March 31, 2020. The new area code 656 started service on February 22, 2022, but only after all available central office prefixes of 813 had been assigned.[5][6][7]This requiredten-digit dialingwithin the numbering plan area.
See also
editReferences
edit- ^"Planning Letter 541: NPA 656 to Overlay NPA 813 (Florida)"(PDF).North American Numbering Plan Administrator.2020-06-29.Retrieved2020-08-25.
- ^DEMAND FORCES SOUTHERN BELL TO MAKE A SWITCH IN AREA CODES"The Orlando Sentinel,Sept. 1 1986
- ^"Planning Letter 121: NANP Split of 813 (Florida) Numbering Plan Area (NPA)"(PDF).NANPA. 1998-04-21.Retrieved2023-08-25.
- ^Turner, Jim.[1]"Tampa may get a new area code" ],Creative Loafing,Tampa, Florida,Mar 24, 2020
- ^"NANPA Planning Letter 541"(PDF).2020-06-26.
- ^"Planning Letter 552: NPA 813 and 656 All-Services Overlay (Florida)"(PDF).NANPA. 2020-12-04.Retrieved2023-08-03.
- ^"Tampa-Hillsborough to get a new area code. Say hello to the 656".Tampa Bay Times.2020-05-08.Retrieved2020-05-08.
External links
edit| North:352 | ||
| West:727 | 656/813 | East:863 |
| South:941 |