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Entire Panhandle Will Get A New Area Code; The 850 Numbers Are Running Out
August 28, 2019
The 850 area code is running out of available phone numbers, and an additional area code would be added under a plan under consideration by state regulators.
The North American Numbering Plan Administrator, which oversees area code planning across the nation, said the 850 area code will run out of available photo numbers in the first quarter of 2022. They have petitioned the Florida Public Service Commission for a new area code that will overlay the existing 850 area code.
The PSC will consider the request at a September 6 workshop meeting.
If approved the new area code would cover the same area as the current 850 area code, which includes Escambia County to Tallahassee.
The new area code would go into service in 2021, with a transition period before the 850 runs out of numbers. The addition will require 10-digit dialing in all of Northwest Florida .
All existing customers would retain the 850 area code and would not have to change their telephone numbers, according to the PSC.
Comments
32 Responses to “Entire Panhandle Will Get A New Area Code; The 850 Numbers Are Running Out”
Back in the Eighties, a friend of mine had another friend in North Korea. The friend’s local phone number was 7.
The town had fewer than ten telephones.
REGARDING:
“Before it was 850 its was 904 area code”
Yeah, I sometimes think 904 even though it’s been decades. Now, where’d I leave that whatchamacallit I had a minute ago?
David for switching to alphabetic
Too many people.
What about the guy that calls me everyday about my car warranty? Is he going to be notified.
It’s amazing to me that telephone engineers in the mid last century had the foresight to create a direct dial numbering system that still works in the 21st century. That was decades before fax, cellphones, number portability, etc. It would have been great if those who developed internet addressing had the same mindset.
Aren’t we past the need for an area code? It should be possible to simply assign a random number to anyone and set it up in a database so anyone in the world can call it. Nobody will run out of random numbers.
Before it was 850 its was 904 area code.
relax, worry more about people texting while driving. if you can’t do three more numbers, you are pathetic. besides, most have the majority of phone numbers on speed dial. get a grip! sincerely, Hemlock 38172.
This is to the people questioning about how the numbers are running out… there are many cell phones that actually have 2 numbers programmed in them. T-Mobile, for example, pushes this because it makes their “subscriber” numbers look better to investors and customers. They often offer it for free and you might not even know what the extra number is.
Then there are all the other devices that communicate on the cell network… things like ATM’s, security systems, vehicle trackers, hotspots, computer networks, and all kinds of other things. You still have people with home numbers and others with DSL internet accounts. There are tons of internet phone services like Google Voice, MagicJack, Vonage and others… All these things take an individual phone number and eat up an 850.
Then you have all the pre-paid cell services where people change phones and numbers on almost a monthly basis… each one is a new number, and the old number doesn’t go back into service for 90 days…
So there are LOTS of things that burn up the numbers…..
This going to really mess up all the 850 gangs.
Phone numbers have worked for a long time but are difficult for people to remember or dial from another country. We need an easier text phrase system that works globally like an email address. Something like 12345.esc.fl.usa.
Relieved won’t have to change my number because the guy who has a really Not From Here Accent keeps wanting to talk with “Christa” and I am hoping she shows up so I can let her know he’s desperate to communicate with her.
Feel like my phone is the central contact for some folks “Over There”.
Now I’m gonna have to change the Tattoo on my neck
It was better when my number was BR549 and the operator made my calls no ROBO calls.
No idea that progress could confound so many people. Go back to Mayberry, please.
Why don’t they change the numbers on the east coast. When they changed us to 850, they kept the original 904 number so let them feel some of the pain of changing.
Families with 3 or more cell phones isn’t helping the situation
For a minute there, I was about to have a temper fit. Thank goodness I don’t have to change my area code on my sign, cause it would have cost me another three hundred bucks to change it.
@Fred Garvin:
The numbering protocol… is based on the expected number of devices that an area is going to have to serve at some point in the future.
It basically is a way to add additional numbers to an area when it becomes obvious that the existing area code is going to be overloaded.
Thanks to mobile devices, the “lines on a map” version of area codes just doesn’t work any more.
When you look at the numbers, it’s hard to believe there are nine million numbers in the Panhandle, but it’s there. Florida’s population is now over 20 million. Given the distribution of most of that in the southern end, it’s still feasible to have 3 million in between here and tallahassee.
300,000 residents in Escambia County alone. 160 thousand more in Santa Rosa. And that’s just people, we haven’t touched businesses, banks, government, and all the rest.
So yeah… in a couple of years when that new house goes up down the street… they’ll have that different area code while the rest of us sit back and remember the good old days in the 850 ‘hood.
if it would STOP the phone soliciters and spoof numbers, I would dial 10 numbers
Great question, Fred Garvin.
How many numbers in an area code?
Each three-digit area code may contain up to 7,919,900 unique phone numbers: NXX may begin only with the digits [2–9], providing a base of 8 million numbers: ( 8 x 100 x 10000 ) . However, the last two digits of NXX cannot both be 1, to avoid confusion with the N11 codes (subtract 80,000).
So many people no longer have landlines. People carry their mobile numbers with them wherever they move. Area codes no longer necessarily indicate a number’s location. So many people use 10-digit dialing now or numbers are stored in phones where the number of digits are irrelevant, so this isn’t a big issue for the majority of people. Just add the new area code, keep dialing 10-digits, take a leap from the 80’s and 90’s, and welcome to the ever-changing technology.
why don’t they just create a new area code south
of I 10. this would handle growth area………
I am from Atlanta and we all had 404 then new numbers got 770 the 678, and 478. I think it should be for new numbers. Current number should stay as they are.
Dialing 10 digits is not that bad. I find myself still dialing that now from living in GA where that is what you have to do. Does it take some time to get use to it yes but it is not bad. I don’t want to loose my number either so if that is what we have to do then so bid
Could someone explain the numbering protocol for telephone numbers? It seems unlikely that we have over 9 million phone numbers assigned in NW FL.
I will gladly dial 850 to keep my number I have had for 23 plus yrs thank you very much!! I bet if you could ask the people who used to have a 904 exchange if they could have kept their original number they would have said yes too!! And besides, most people use speed dial these days anyways!❤
Dumb idea for 10 digit dialing. Just split the area into 2 area codes. The whole state or Alabama was one area code (205) until some time in mid1990s. The lower half of the state changed to 334. Then it was split again to where we are now 251. Split the area, don’t have 2 zipcodes spread across the same zone. Idiots.
Poor feller, I hope this transition doesn’t confuse you too much or cause you to have to work too hard. The real question is, what is that black shiny thing with the curly wire in the picture? That is just the craziest looking apparatus I swear….
I remember back not to many years ago the county commission wanted to increase the 911 fee because there were supposedly fewer phone numbers to collect it from. I said bull (mushroom fertilizer); this was just another money grab. And here’s the proof!
Jason must not be a Frontier Communications customer. They have had to dial 10 digits for years.
The PSC needs to re-think this decision and just split the current area zoned “850″. It still gives users almost 18 months to update any paperwork with the new area code or re-program equipment to the new area code. Absolutely no sense in making every call a 10-digit dialing experience. Sheessssshhhhhh!