Area codes 804 and 686
Area codes 804 and 686are telephonearea codesin theNorth American Numbering Plan(NANP) for the east-central portion ofVirginia.The numbering plan area is anchored by Virginia's capital,Richmond,and includes most of its metropolitan area. Other communities included areChesterfield,Henrico,Hopewell,Mechanicsville,Powhatan,Midlothian,Petersburg,andColonial Heights.This also includes theNorthern Neckand theMiddle Peninsula.The two southernmost counties on the Middle Peninsula,GloucesterandMathews,are part of theHampton Roadsmetropolitan area, but use 804 and 686 instead of thearea codes 757 and 948used by the rest of Hampton Roads.
Area code 804 was split from Virginia's originalarea code 703on Sunday, June 24, 1973, with an official permissive dialing period ending January 1, 1974.[1]Originally, it stretched across the eastern two-thirds of the state, fromDanvilleto theEastern Shore.Normally, when an area code is split, the largest city in the old numbering plan area retains the old area code–in this case,Norfolk,then Virginia's largest city. However,C&P Telephone(now part ofVerizon) wanted to keep the large number of federal agencies inNorthern Virginiafrom having to change their numbers.
Despite the rapid growth of theRichmond-Petersburgand Hampton Roads areas, this configuration remained in place for 23 years. On July 1, 1996, the Eastern Shore and most of Hampton Roads becamearea code 757.Although Hampton Roads is the largest metropolitan area based in the Commonwealth, Bell Atlantic (forerunner of Verizon) decided to let Richmond keep 804 in order to spare the plethora of state agencies in the capital the expense and burden of having to change their numbers. This split was intended as a long-term solution, but by the turn of the century and millennium 804 was running out of numbers due to the rapid growth of the Richmond area, as well as the proliferation of cell phones and pagers. As a result, 804 was split again on June 1, 2001, when most of the western portion (Danville,Lynchburg,Charlottesville) becamearea code 434.
Prior to October 2021, area code 804 had telephone numbers assigned for thecentral office code988. In 2020,988was designated nationwide as a dialing code for theNational Suicide Prevention Lifeline,which created a conflict for exchanges that permitseven-digit dialing.This area code was therefore scheduled to transition toten-digit dialingby October 24, 2021.[2]
Area code 804 is predicted to run out of central office prefixes in the third quarter of 2024. TheState Corporation Commission(SCC) announced on November 16, 2022, that it wouldoverlaythe existing area code, likely in the first half of 2024.[3]On November 22, 2022, the SCC approved the new area code 686 to be implemented after the numbers in area code 804 have been exhausted.[4]On January 9, 2023, the NANPA designated the assignment of the overlay which took effect on February 1, 2024, with network preparation beginning on May 1, 2023.[5]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^"NANP Area Code History: 1970 - 1979," from areacode-info.com
- ^"Transition to 10-digit dialing (for 988 as 3-digit access to National Suicide Prevention Hotline)"(PDF).North American Numbering Plan Administrator. January 8, 2021.RetrievedMarch 9,2021.
- ^Ress, Dave (16 November 2022)."SCC approves additional area code for Virginia's 804 region".Richmond Times-Dispatch.Retrieved2022-11-16.
- ^"SCC Approves New Area Code for Central Virginia and Northern Neck; NANPA Assigns new 686 Area Code to Relieve Exhaustion of 804".State Corporation Commission.November 22, 2022.RetrievedNovember 22,2022.
- ^"Planning Letter PL-608 – NPA 686 and 804 All-Services Overlay (Virginia)"(PDF).NANPA. 2023-01-09.Retrieved2023-01-14.
External links
[edit]| North:703/571,540/826 | ||
| West:434 | Area codes 804/686 | East:757/948 |
| South:434,757/948 | ||
| Marylandarea codes:301/240/227,410/443/667 | ||