Area code 270

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Approximate service area of Area Code 270 highlighted. Counties to stay in 270 are in red; counties scheduled to move to 364 are in pink.
Approximate service area of Area Code 270 highlighted. Counties to stay in 270 are in red; counties scheduled to move to 364 are in pink.

Area code 270 presently serves the U.S. state of Kentucky's western counties. Area code 270 was split off of area code 502 in April 1999.

In September and October 2006, state officials announced that the area code would run out of numbers in late 2007. [1][2]

On May 31, 2007, the Kentucky PSC announced that 270 will be split along the Pennyrile Parkway, with the newly-created area code, still to be announced, serving western Kentucky, and area code 270 serving west-central Kentucky. This announcement indicated that permissive dialing of the new area code would begin on April 1, 2008, with mandatory dialing to the new area code on October 1, 2008. Among the cities that will remain in the 270 area code are Bowling Green, Owensboro, and Elizabethtown. Cities that will be ceded to the 364 area code include Madisonville, Hopkinsville, Henderson, Murray, and Paducah. [3]

The PSC did note that mandatory number pooling, recently imposed on the region, may delay the implementation of the new code. Surprisingly, the 502 and 859 area codes, which serve the urban areas of Louisville (502) and Lexington and Northern Kentucky (both 859), have fewer numbers available than 270, and neither is expected to run out of numbers before 2017.

On June 13, 2007, the PSC announced that the new area code will be 364, but also announced that the previously announced implemention dates would be changed due to number conservation measures including expanded number pooling. [4]

On June 15, 2007, the PSC actually postponed the permissive dialing of the new 364 area code to October 1, 2008. Mandatory dialing to the new area code was changed as well, but the actual date is still TO BE DETERMINED by the PSC. [5]

On November 1, 2007, the PSC again postponed permissive dialing of the new 364 area code, this time to January 1, 2009. Mandatory dialing to 364 is still TBD. [6]

More recently, on March 31, 2008, the PSC even further postponed permissive dialing of the new 364 area code, to April 1, 2010. Mandatory dialing to 364 is still TBD. [7]

These subsequent delays or postponements of the implementation of the 270 / 364 area code split are due to further use of number conservation measures, including mandatory and expanded number pooling.

[edit] See also

Commonwealth of Kentucky Area Codes: 270, 502, 606, 859
North: 618, 812, 502, 859
West: 618, 573 Area code 270 East: 502, 606
South: 731, 931, 615
State of Missouri area codes: 314, 417, 573, 636, 660, 816
State of Illinois area codes: 217, 224, 309, 312, 331, 618, 630, 708, 773, 779, 815, 847
State of Indiana area codes: 219, 260, 317, 574, 765, 812
State of Tennessee Area Codes: 423, 615, 731, 865, 901, 931


[edit] References