(The Center Square) — Maine is among a handful of states with one area code, and that will continue for the next several years under a move by state utility regulators.
The Maine Public Utilities Commission says the state’s telecommunications companies can continue to issue new numbers with the “207” area code, more than three and a half years beyond its life expectancy.
“This is one of the longest extensions of our exhaust date since we began our work to preserve Maine’s single area code,” Philip L. Bartlett II, the commission’s chairman, said in a statement.
Regulators say the single area code will eventually need to be changed because of the increase in service providers and numbering requests, but they have extended the deadline to make those changes several times.
State regulators have been probing why Verizon and other telecom companies are running out of numbers to assign the 207 area code. Previous estimates suggested that Maine would need to implement a second area code in early 2025. In April, that was extended out to early 2029.
Maine is one of only 11 states with only one area code, and over the past quarter century, “207” has become a nostalgic part of the Pine Tree State’s identity.
State regulators said “mitigation strategies” with telecommunication carriers in recent years have freed up more than 600,000 new 207-based telephone numbers for the state’s available pool. There are about 8 million numbers available using the 207 area code.
“Our staff has looked at a number of practices that have impacted the rate at which our numbers were being tied up, including forecasting and block request practices, curbing the use of numbering resources by robocallers, and encouraging providers to work collaboratively,” Bartlett said.
He said the regulatory efforts will ensure that numbers “are used in the most efficient manner” and could extend the life of Maine’s single area code until the 2050s.
The commission also has requested that the Federal Communications Commission direct the North American Numbering Plan Administrator to report on the technical, operational and costs of providing more numbers using the 207 area code.
Overall, North America could run out of area codes by 2051, which would increase phone numbers from the standard 10 digits to 12 digits, according to state regulators.
