Area code 850
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Area code 850 is in use for the Florida Panhandle, USA. [1] Area code 904 was used for the entire part of northern Florida from 11 July 1965, when 904 split from 305, until 904 itself was split in the mid-1990s. Permissive dialing for area code 850 began June 23, 1997 and mandatory dialing began March 23, 1998.
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[edit] Original Plan
Area code 850 was originally intended to be the relief code used in the 1995 split of the 904 area code. The Jacksonville, Panama City, Pensacola, and Tallahassee LATAs were to retain 904 while the Daytona Beach and Gainesville LATAs changed to 850. This plan was scrapped in favor of a plan that moved only the Gainesville LATA to a new area code, this time 352 (FLA on the telephone keypad) and kept the Daytona Beach LATA in 904 along with the rest of northern Florida. The reason for changing from 850 to 352 was a potential dialing conflict with the 407-850 office code and some rate centers in the Gainesville LATA with 7-digit EAS local calling into the 407 area code. Political pressure from the tourism industry in Daytona Beach resulted in that area being kept in the 904 area code.
[edit] Implemented Plan
In 1996 the Florida Public Service Commission had planned a 3-way split to relieve the exhausting 904 area code to take place in 1997. The Jacksonville LATA would move to a proposed 234 area code while the Daytona Beach LATA would change to the 386 area code. The Pensacola, Panama City, and Tallahassee LATAs would have retained the 904 area code. Outcry from the public and business community in the Jacksonville region as well as opposition from NANPA and the FCC forced the Florida PSC to change course and adopt the plan that was ultimately implemented with Pensacola, Tallahassee, and Panama City moving to 850 and Jacksonville and Daytona Beach retaining 904.
[edit] Cities served by the 850 area code
- Pensacola
- Destin
- Fort Walton Beach
- Crestview
- Panama City
- Tallahassee
- Monticello
- Valparaiso
- Niceville
- Marianna
- DeFuniak Springs
- Navarre
- Gulf Breeze
| State of Florida area codes: 239, 305, 321, 352, 386, 407, 561, 727, 754, 772, 786, 813, 850, 863, 904, 941, 954 | ||
|---|---|---|
| North: 229, 251 , 334 | ||
| West: 251 | area code 850 | East: 352, 386 |
| South: Gulf of Mexico | ||
| State of Alabama Area Codes: 205, 251, 256, 334 | ||
| State of Georgia area codes: 229, 404, 478, 678, 706, 770, 912 | ||
