By Austin Rust
MCM Media
The Public Utilities Commission of Ohio (PUCO) has announced that it has approved a plan to implement a new 326 area code.
This new area code will overlay the existing 937 area code, which is expected to run out of available phone numbers in 2020.
Mandatory 10 or 11-digit dialing for all local calls is scheduled to begin February 8, 2020, and the new 326 area code will take effect March 8, 2020. This will not change any current telephone numbers or their area codes; instead, this means that any new number given out in the local area (the existing 937 area code) will receive a 326 area code. Calls that are currently considered local calls will remain local calls, and calls between 937 and 326 will be considered local calls. Long distance calling will not change, and three digit number (911, etc.) availability will not change.
On their website, PUCO explains that the growth of the telecommunications industry in recent years has led to a phenomenon known as area code exhaust. Households no longer have a single phone for the family; many households now have multiple phone lines, cell phones, and Internet access, and businesses require additional phone lines and fax machines. Common conveniences such as pay-at-the-pump gas stations and ATMs each require their own phone numbers, too.
Further, PUCO explains that an area code reaches “exhaust” when nearly all of the telephone prefixes (or NXX codes) within that area code are assigned. NXX codes are the first three digits of a phone number following the area code – such as 544 in the West Union area, for example. There are 792 possible NXX prefixes in each area code; each NXX prefix consists of 10,000 numbers, and telephone companies are assigned NXX codes in blocks. It is normally a shortage of NXX codes that leads to area code exhaust, instead of a shortage of actual telephone numbers.
The plan to implement a new 326 area code overlaying the existing 937 area code is referred to as an all-services overlay. In this type of overlay, a new area code “covers” the pre-existing area code, and most often serves the same geographic area. Existing numbers keep the old area code, and only new telephone lines are assigned the new area code. This includes phone numbers for all types of services, whether the phone number is for a phone, cell phone, fax machine, or ATM. Overlays are used to assign multiple area codes to each geographic area, putting an end to further shrinking of the geographic size of the area code.