Area codes 804 and 686
Area codes 804 and 686 are telephone
Mathews, are part of the Hampton Roads metropolitan area, but use 804 and 686 instead of the area codes 757 and 948
used by the rest of Hampton Roads.
Area code 804 was split from Virginia's original
area code 703 on Sunday, June 24, 1973, with an official permissive dialing period ending January 1, 1974.[1] Originally, it stretched across the eastern two-thirds of the state, from Danville to the Eastern Shore. Normally, when an area code is split, the largest city in the old numbering plan area retains the old area code–in this case, Norfolk, then Virginia's largest city. However, C&P Telephone (now part of Verizon) wanted to keep the large number of federal agencies in Northern Virginia
from having to change their numbers.
Despite the rapid growth of the
Charlottesville) became area code 434
.
Prior to October 2021, area code 804 had telephone numbers assigned for the
National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, which created a conflict for exchanges that permit seven-digit dialing. This area code was therefore scheduled to transition to ten-digit dialing by October 24, 2021.[2]
Area code 804 is predicted to run out of central office prefixes in the third quarter of 2024. The State Corporation Commission (SCC) announced on November 16, 2022, that it would overlay the existing area code, likely in the first half of 2024.[3] On November 22, 2022, the SCC approved the new area code 686 to be implemented after the numbers in area code 804 have been exhausted.[4] On January 9, 2023, the NANPA designated the assignment of the overlay which took effect on February 1, 2024, with network preparation beginning on May 1, 2023.[5]
See also
- List of Virginia area codes
- List of NANP area codes
References
- ^ "NANP Area Code History: 1970 - 1979," from areacode-info.com
- ^ "Transition to 10-digit dialing (for 988 as 3-digit access to National Suicide Prevention Hotline)" (PDF). North American Numbering Plan Administrator. January 8, 2021. Retrieved March 9, 2021.
- ^ Ress, Dave (16 November 2022). "SCC approves additional area code for Virginia's 804 region". Richmond Times-Dispatch. Retrieved 2022-11-16.
- ^ "SCC Approves New Area Code for Central Virginia and Northern Neck; NANPA Assigns new 686 Area Code to Relieve Exhaustion of 804". State Corporation Commission. November 22, 2022. Retrieved November 22, 2022.
- ^ "Planning Letter PL-608 – NPA 686 and 804 All-Services Overlay (Virginia)" (PDF). NANPA. 2023-01-09. Retrieved 2023-01-14.
External links
| North: 703/571, 540/826 | ||
| West: 434 | Area codes 804/686 | East: 757/948 |
| South: 434, 757/948 | ||
| Maryland area codes: 227/240/301, 410/443/667 | ||