Area codes 703 and 571

area codes 571 and 703 — The red-colored area is the northern region of the Commonwealth of Virginia served by area code 703 and its overlay code 571.

Area codes 703 and 571 are telephone

overlay plan with 703. The headquarters for The Chesapeake and Potomac Telephone Company of Virginia

was at 703 East Grace Street, Richmond, Virginia.

History

On June 24, 1973, area code 703 underwent its first split, when the eastern portion of the state became

in order to allow federal agencies on the Maryland side of the metro to keep their current numbers.

From 1947 to 1990, it was possible for telephone users in the northern Virginia portion of 703 to dial any number in the

overlay for the entire metro. One consequence of this was that no central office prefix could be duplicated anywhere in the Washington metro area. For instance, if a 1-202-574 number was in use in the District or a 1-301-574 was in use on the Maryland side of the metro, the corresponding 1-703-574 number could only be used in areas considered a safe distance from the Washington metro area, such as Roanoke and the Tri-Cities

. By the end of the 1980s, the Washington area was running out of numbers, so the partial overlay of 202 was ended in 1990.

However, it soon became apparent that breaking seven-digit dialing in the Washington area would not free up enough numbers to keep up with demand on either side of the

area code 410

from 301 four years earlier.

The 1995 split was intended to be a long-term solution. However, within four years, 703 was close to exhaustion due to the proliferation of cell phones, fax machines, and pagers, as well as northern Virginia's explosive growth. To solve this problem, area code 571 was introduced on March 1, 2000, as an overlay to 703. Area code 571 serves most new telephone numbers; while it is primarily associated with

mobile telephone lines, it is also used for new landline numbers, including the United States Patent and Trademark Office upon moving to Alexandria; the Transportation Security Administration, which was created in 2001 and has its headquarters in Arlington; and the Fairfax County Public Schools

, which moved its headquarters to the Falls Church area in 2006.

Even with the end of seven-digit dialing, much of the inner ring of the Washington metro area, including the bulk of the 703/571 territory, is still a local calling area spanning the District itself and much of the Maryland side. With few exceptions, no long-distance charges are applied from one portion of the metro area to the other.

Local service providers

Although former competitors Bell Atlantic (a former

Baby Bell) and GTE had assigned geographical monopolies varying by region in Virginia, they merged in the late 1990s to form Verizon

, now the dominant local telephone service provider throughout Virginia, including both of these area codes. Over 85% of all telephone numbers in both of these area codes are served by Verizon, a regulated monopoly.

However, mobile telephone service is provided with numbers assigned these area codes by various operators such as

Verizon Wireless

.

Competition in the local telephone service market within these area codes has been joined by

fiber optic

telecommunication networks (which also provide cable television and high-speed internet services).

Dialing requirements

Because of the overlay of 703 and 571,

10-digit dialing is mandatory even for local calls; cellphone callers do the same on all direct-dialed calls. Long-distance calls are dialed as eleven digits, using the prefix 1, but for landline-based phones only.^[2]

Service area

Area code 703 and the overlay area code 571 serve the following cities and towns in Virginia: Alexandria, Annandale, Ashburn, Burke, Centreville, Chantilly, Dale City, Fairfax, Falls Church, Franconia, Great Falls, Groveton, Herndon, Lake Ridge, Leesburg, Lorton, Manassas, Manassas Park, McLean, Mount Vernon, North Springfield, Oakton, Occoquan, Reston, South Riding, Springfield, Sterling, Vienna, West Springfield, and Woodbridge, plus all or part of these counties: Arlington, Fairfax, Loudoun, and Prince William.

References

^ ""NANP Area Code History: 1970–1979", from areacode-info.com". Archived from the original on 2002-11-03. Retrieved 2008-06-03.
^ NANP Administration System: Area Code 703 Archived February 14, 2012, at the Wayback Machine

External links

540, 571/703, 686/804, 757/948
	North: 301/240
West: 540/826	area code 703/571	East: 301/240, 202/771
	South: 540/826
District of Columbia area codes: 202/771
Maryland area codes: 227/240/301, 410/443/667

[1] ""NANP Area Code History: 1970–1979", from areacode-info.com". Archived from the original on 2002-11-03. Retrieved 2008-06-03.

[2] NANP Administration System: Area Code 703 Archived February 14, 2012, at the Wayback Machine

[2]