Area codes 223 and 717

Area code 716 Area code 585 Area code 607 Area code 845 Area codes 862 and 973 Area code 908 Area codes 410 and 443 Area code 302 Area codes 240 and 301 Area codes 234 and 330 Area code 440 Area code 724 Area code 878 Area code 724 Area code 814 Area codes 272 and 570 Area codes 484 and 610 Area code 856 Area codes 215 and 267 Area code 609 Area codes 223 and 717 Area code 412Area code 717
Pennsylvania (blue) with numbering plan area 717 shown in red. Note that this map is clickable; click on any area code to go to the page for that area code.

Area codes 717 and 223 are telephone area codes which serve South Central Pennsylvania. The numbering plan area covers the Harrisburg, Lancaster and York metropolitan areas with a population of nearly two million people, as well as most of the area generally known as Pennsylvania Dutch Country.

717 was one of the original area codes established in 1947. The original numbering plan area (NPA) covered the eastern half of the state except for the Delaware and Lehigh valleys. It stretched from the Maryland border to the south to the New York and New Jersey borders, making it the largest of Pennsylvania's original four plan areas and the second-largest east of the Mississippi River that did not cover an entire state, after Michigan's NPA 616.

Despite the presence of five of the state's 15 largest cities (Harrisburg, Lancaster, York, Scranton and Wilkes-Barre), this part of Pennsylvania is not as densely populated as the Delaware and Lehigh Valleys. As a result, for the next 41 years, 717 was the largest numbering plan area on the Eastern Seaboard. It was pushed slightly eastward in 1994 as part of the split of Philadelphia's area code 215, when a number of outer Philadelphia suburbs that were slated to transfer to area code 610 were instead shifted to 717. These areas were served by non-Bell telephone companies who wanted to consolidate their eastern Pennsylvania customers into a single area code.

By the mid-1990s, the proliferation of cell phones, pagers, and fax machines required another area code. NPA 717 was split on December 5, 1998, when the northern portion, centered on Scranton, Wilkes-Barre and Williamsport, received area code 570. As of May 2005, the subscriber number pool of 717 was allocated by 52%.

The Pennsylvania Utility Commission determined in 2010 that 717 will likely exhaust by the second quarter of 2018. Under consideration for relief were an overlay the numbering plan area with a second area code, or a split along an east-west boundary. An overlay requires ten-digit dialing in the territory, while the latter preserves seven-digit dialing. Most of those who testified in a public hearing supported an overlay as a cost-effective solution.[1] In October 2016, an overlay area code, 223, was approved, to become effective in 2017.[2] The effective date of ten digit dialing has been announced as August 26, 2017.[3] The 223 area code will be available for number assignment on September 26, 2017.[4]

When 223 enters service, it will break seven-digit dialing in the eastern half of Pennsylvania. The only portion of the Commonwealth that has not been overlaid to date is 814.

Service area

Area code 717 (and 223, starting September 26, 2017) serve parts of sixteen counties in Pennsylvania.[5]

See also

References

  1. ↑ http://www.pennlive.com/news/2016/08/with_717_numbers_in_limited_su.html#incart_2box
  2. ↑ "717 area code in Berks, 15 other counties to get 223 overlay". Allentown, PA: WFMZ-TV. November 9, 2016. Retrieved December 7, 2016.
  3. ↑ "NANPA Planning Letter 501" (PDF).
  4. ↑ Flyer GT185817PA-HF, Verizon bill enclosure.
  5. ↑ http://www.puc.state.pa.us/telecom/pdf/areacode/717_ACMap.pdf
Pennsylvania area codes: 215, 223, 267, 272, 412, 484, 570, 610, 717, 724, 814, 878
North: 570/272
West: 814 area code 717/223 East: 610/484
South: 301/240, 410/443/667
Maryland area codes: 240/301, 410/443/667

Coordinates: 40°15′43″N 77°29′49″W / 40.262°N 77.497°W / 40.262; -77.497

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