Area codes 706 and 762
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Area codes 706 and 762 are telephone
The numbering plan area (NPA) is divided into three disconnected geographical regions. A small section is in west-central Georgia, in the region around
The major section of 706 wraps around from
History
When the North American Numbering Plan was created in 1947, the entire state of Georgia was assigned area code 404. On July 1, 1954, the southern portion of the state, from Macon southward, was split off with area code 912. Area code 404 was limited to the northern half of the state, from the Tennessee and North Carolina state lines as far south as Columbus and Augusta. This configuration remained in place for 38 years.
In 1992, almost all of the old 404 territory outside the Atlanta area was split off as area code 706. Originally, 706 consisted of a horseshoe-shaped region that completely wrapped around the inner ring of Atlanta. It also included a number of southern exurbs of Atlanta. However, the residents of these areas felt chagrin at no longer being associated with 404. Shortly after 706 commenced service, BellSouth returned several of these areas to 404. The boundary was redrawn in such a way that isolated Columbus and the surrounding area from the rest of the 706 territory, making 706 one of the few area codes that is not contiguous.
BellSouth and the Georgia Public Service Commission knew that due to Atlanta's explosive growth, 404 was still on the brink of exhaustion even after the creation of 706. They had already planned to introduce 770 as the area code for Atlanta's suburban ring later in the 1990s. However, the return of the southern exurbs forced the GPSC to put 770 into service in 1995, a few years sooner than planned.
In June 2005, the GPSC announced that 706 had nearly exhausted its capacity for new
Despite the rapid growth in 706/762's main section (particularly the northern portion), it is nowhere near exhausting. Under current projections, it is expected to remain in its unusual, non-contiguous state until after 2049. [2]
Prior to 1990, area code 706 was used for dialing parts of the Baja California areas of Mexico from the United States.[3]
Service area
The 706/762 overlay serves the following counties: Banks, Burke (part with area code 478), Chattooga, Catoosa, Chattahoochee, Clarke, Columbia, Dade, Dawson, Elbert, Fannin, Franklin, Floyd, Gilmer, Glascock, Gordon, Greene, Habersham, Hancock, Harris, Hart, Heard, Jackson, Jasper, Jefferson (part with area code 478), Jenkins, Lincoln, Lumpkin, Madison, McDuffie, Meriwether, Morgan, Murray, Muscogee, Oconee, Oglethorpe, Putnam, Rabun, Richmond, Stephens, Talbot, Taliaferro, Towns, Troup, Union, Upson (part with area code 478), Walker, Warren, White, Whitfield, and Wilkes
See also
- List of NANP area codes
- North American Numbering Plan
References
- ^ "PL-346: NPA 762 to Overlay NPA 706 (Georgia)" (PDF). NANPA: North American Numbering Plan Administrator. NANPA. Retrieved 8 December 2022.
- ^ "NANPA Exhaust Projections 2019" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2020-02-21. Retrieved 2019-10-21.
- ISBN 978-0-9616843-0-3.
External links
- NANPA area code map of Georgia
- List of exchanges from AreaCodeDownload.com, 706 Area Code
- List of exchanges from AreaCodeDownload.com, 762 Area Code
North: 423 | ||
West: 938, 334
|
area code 706/762 nearly completely surrounds 678 and 770
|
East: 864 |
South: 229, 478 | ||
Alabama area codes: 205/659, 251, 256/938, 334 | ||
Tennessee area codes: 423, 615/629, 731, 865, 901, 931 | ||
910, 919/984
| ||
South Carolina area codes: 803/839, 843/854, 864 |