Talk:List of North American Numbering Plan area codes

Planned area codes and article names
I'm wondering, should article names for pending overlays be changed at the effective date, or the approval date? That would impact the following that have officially approved dates:


 * Area code 256 --> Area codes 256 and 938
 * Area code 715 --> Area codes 715 and 534
 * Area code 450 --> Area codes 450 and 579
 * Area code 705 --> Area codes 705 and 249
 * Area code 402 --> Area codes 402 and 531
 * Area code 918 --> Area codes 539 and 918
 * Area codes 718 and 347 --> Area codes 718, 347 and 929
 * Area code 920 --> Area codes 920 and 274
 * Area codes 905 and 289 --> Area codes 905, 289 and 365
 * Area code 819 --> Area codes 819 and 873
 * Area code 870 --> Area codes 870 and 327

(I didn't include suspended plans, or proposals with no official implementation date) CrazyC83 (talk) 02:33, 31 May 2010 (UTC)

Expanding to include all planned (not suspended) but undated overlays that are confirmed to be a distributed overlay:


 * Area code 217 --> Area codes 217 and 447
 * Area codes 240 and 301 --> Area codes 301, 240 and 227 (Active plan but not expected to be implemented for 10 years or so)
 * Area codes 410 and 443 --> Area codes 410, 443 and 667
 * Area code 618 --> Area codes 618 and 730
 * Area code 708 --> Area codes 708 and 464
 * Area code 860 --> Area codes 860 and 959
 * Area code 919 --> Area codes 919 and 984

Suspended plans are not included as they sometimes get withdrawn completely. CrazyC83 (talk) 01:05, 1 June 2010 (UTC)
 * I edited your area code 918 link --Darkskynet (talk) 01:14, 19 January 2011 (UTC)


 * Personally, I don't believe we should change the article name until a definitive date is set, and even then not until, say, 6 months before it happens Purplebackpack89  (Notes Taken)  (Locker) 03:11, 1 June 2010 (UTC)


 * I think it should wait until the effective date personally, but others seem to see things differently and are moving some of those articles (potentially creating a movement war). CrazyC83 (talk) 19:31, 1 June 2010 (UTC)

I have changed area code 918 to area codes 539 and 918 The overlay of the 918 area code is set in stone and becomes effective March, 5 2011. --Darkskynet (talk) 07:11, 18 January 2011 (UTC)

code map area
hi there was a map of united states code area how to reestablish it and thank you very much then bye --Yazid6 (talk) 20:07, 18 June 2020 (UTC)
 * Assignments have got way too complex for a single map. This makes a map somewhat useless. This is a list article in fact. Look at the articles--most have local maps. kbrose (talk) 00:36, 23 January 2023 (UTC)

White cells in the summary table
How many white cells are there in the summary table?? Georgia guy (talk) 16:33, 20 January 2023 (UTC)


 * There are currently 150 white cells, that is, area codes available for geographic assignment. There are also 72 area codes available for non-geographic assignment, and 20 codes in two contiguous areas, 370–379 and 960–969, that are being held back for, I don't know, maybe in case a continious series of 10 area codes will someday be needed for something. There are also 80 area codes reserved for future expansion of the numbering system, that is, those whose middle digit is 9. Article North American Numbering Plan expansion tells how they might be used. This makes a total of 322 currently unused area codes, or 40% of the total space of 800 possible area codes. Teemu Leisti (talk) 23:46, 20 January 2023 (UTC)

NANPA area code dates
The first set of area codes was announced in October 1947. Using the date 1947-01-01 therefore makes no sense in the table. It is even questionable whether any of them got any use until 1948 in Operator Toll DIaling. Do not fill in exact dates for entries that don't already have them, unless definitive newspaper records can be found that specify a date, but that probably isn't possible to have happened for years after. 1951 is likely the first, since we know the date of the first DDD call. The NANPA data base does not have correct complete dates before sometime in the early 1990s. If they specify "-01-01", that most likely does not mean January 1, but that they don't have records either, and that their software doesn't work without a complete specification. The only reliable documents appear to be the early CSO/BellCore Information Letters in the late 1980s, and later the Planning Letters. kbrose (talk) 00:36, 23 January 2023 (UTC)

Area code article practices
New editors still often introduce article names and links not conforming to established practice and at arbitrary times when new area code are announced or implemented. Here is a summary of practice for creating and maintaining NANP area code articles:


 * Every implemented and prospective/future area code has a page link/redirect of the form Area code NPA .This really applies to all area codes that have notable information that readers might try to access, because of news coverage or elsewhere. If it is notable, it should have a page link, and notability should be taken per the normal Wikipedia criteria. The link is either the main space topic for a single area code (no overlay), or the page for the overlay complex.
 * New area codes should be introduced in article names only once they are active in the network. Typically, this should be the "in-service" date of the NANPA Planning Letter. This often starts the permissive dialing period, if needed, but this must be examined case-by-case. Even if no central office prefixes/with 1000-blocks are issued to telcos, which can happen for some time pending exhaustion of older area codes, the new area code would have at least test numbers implemented for network testing. Prior to this actual implementation, splits or overlays may be canceled on relatively short notice.
 * New prospective area codes may be discussed in relevant articles, typically the parent NPA article. The prospective NPA should have a link/redirect to this article.
 * NPA overlays have a page title of the form Area code NPA and NPA, for two area codes, or Area code NPA, NPA, and NPA for more. Note that the serial comma is used in the list of NPAs, when more than two area codes are needed.
 * NPA overlay article pages are titled with the NPA listed in the sequence of implementation, not in numerical sorting order.
 * In case an NPA code is ever withdrawn and becomes available for new assignment, it should have a separate page that explains its history. Other articles may still discuss this history of course, and use the link to refer to the page.
 * It has been a matter of editor preference where the redirect page of a future area code points to. Sometimes it leads to the future area codes article, other times, perhaps more often, it links to the parent NPA article.
 * When linking to an area code page, the link should be as short as possible, in accordance to the text that shows in the link. When quoting a single area code, then use the single area code link, not the link for the overlay. For example, use 201 and not 201 This keeps the practice consistent in the future and discourages needless updating the links in case additional area codes are added to an overlay.
 * Redirects should be maintained for all prior versions of the overlay articles, reflecting the history of the addition of area codes of the numbering plan area.

Did I miss anything? kbrose (talk) 20:49, 17 January 2023 (UTC)


 * I don't know if these have been the practices, but they sound like a good idea. A tiny quibble: in the last point, replace "links" by "redirects". Teemu Leisti (talk) 15:04, 20 January 2023 (UTC)
 * You are right, they are called redirects here. kbrose (talk) 20:05, 21 January 2023 (UTC)

933 ERC entry
The 933 ERC is indeed in frequent use these days by voice service providers. It is AFAICT almost universally used as test number to an automated system that reads back the same address that a e911/ng911 PSAP would receive during an emergency call. This may actually be standardized somewhere. This subject needs research, but likely as a subtopic of one of the pages dealing with 9-1-1/e911/ng911, and then link that ERC to one of those pages. (76.118.216.21 (talk) 17:10, 30 November 2023 (UTC))