Area code 706

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In the NANP, area code 706 covers all of northern Georgia outside of metro Atlanta. Until 1992 it was within area code 404, which was retained by the metro area.

This area code is split into two disconnected sections. The small section is west-central Georgia, in the region around Columbus. This is bordered by area code 334 to the west in Alabama, area code 478 to the east, area code 229 to the south, and metro Atlanta's 404, 678, 770, and future 470. It does not touch the landline area of 404, only the cellphone area.

The major section of 706 wraps around from Rome in northwest Georgia, east through the mountains past Dahlonega, meeting its narrowest point at Toccoa, then broadening south to Athens and Augusta. It touches Alabama's area code 256 on the far west, Tennessee's area code 423 on the northwest, North Carolina's area code 828 on the north-northeast, upstate South Carolina's area code 864 and mid-state area code 803, middle Georgia's 478 and metro Atlanta as above.

In June 2005, the Georgia Public Service Commission announced that 706 is near exhaust for new telephone exchange prefixes, and would be overlaid by a new area code. On June 24th, the NANPA assigned area code 762 for this purpose, with 10-digit dialing to be allowed on September 3, and to be required on April 1 of 2007.

This is the third time that the GPSC has flip-flopped on its policy for deciding how new area codes would be assigned. Metro Atlanta's suburbs were split into 770, but then both 404 and 770 were overlaid with 678, and cellphones (originally 404 only) can now have any of those no matter where in the metro area. Southern Georgia was then split three ways instead of an overlay. Surprisingly, this area code which is already physically split will then go back to an overlay, though there is still time for the PSC to correct this, possibly assigning the Columbus area to the new code, then splitting the remainder at Toccoa at another time.

[edit] Trivia

Before its implementation in Georgia in 1992, 706 was one of three area codes being used for direct-dialing into certain parts of Mexico from the United States. The other two area codes used for this were 903 and 905.