A second area code is coming to the 209 region. The newly approved number is ...
Some telephone customers in about a dozen counties including Stanislaus may be issued a phone number with a different area code before long.
The 209 area code in the Central Valley and Sierra Mountains will have a second area code overlaid on the same region.
The California Public Utilities Commission decided on the new area code Thursday. The number is: “350”.
The 209 area code is expected to run out of prefix numbers sometime in the last three months of 2022. The PUC has given approval to add a second area code — 350 — to the geographic region.
After phone service carriers run out of allotted numbers to issue to new customers, a person signing up for service may be given a number starting with the new 350 area code.
There’s no reason to fret. People in the 209 region will keep their current phone numbers. In the future, those living in the region will have a phone number starting either with 209 or 350.
The Public Utilities Commission said in a news release that pricing for phone calls will not change because of the 350 overlay.
The North American Numbering Plan Administration, a neutral third-party area code planner, requested the second area code for the 209 region to provide numbering resources for phone carriers as the demand for telephone numbers grows.
Stanislaus, San Joaquin, Tuolumne, Calaveras, Merced and Mariposa are among the counties in the 209 area.
The Northern San Joaquin Valley and nearby mountain counties did not need a second area code for almost 65 years. According to the PUC, the 209 was created when it was split off from the 415 area code in 1958. Another split occurred in 1997 to form the 559 area code for the Fresno and Visalia area.
Change started to happen in October 2021 with a conversion to 10-digit dialing in the 209 region. People now have to punch “209” and then the number to make local calls, after decades of seven-digit dialing. The Federal Communications Commission required 82 area codes in the United States to convert to 10-digit dialing, so people in distress can easily dial 988 to reach the national mental health crisis hotline.
The Public Utilities Commission said residential and business customers may need to prepare for the 350 overlay. Make sure the area code and 7-digit number is included when taking down someone’s phone number. A business office may have to reprogram equipment for automatic dial, call forwarding and Internet dial-up access.
Keep in mind that numbers with the 209 and 350 area codes will co-exist in the same region.
A news release is planned in September to communicate the area code relief plan to chambers of commerce, local governments and the public. According to Thursday’s decision, the new area code will be assigned Nov. 1.
Phone companies are expected in December to start exhausting their supply of remaining 209 numbers. Numbers with a 350 area code will be issued to new customers.
This story was originally published May 19, 2022 at 4:28 PM.
