Feb. 17—The Public Utilities Commission of Ohio recently approved a plan to overlay a new area code over the existing 440 area code which will soon “exhaust.”
According to regulators, the 436 area code will serve the same geographic area currently served by the existing 440 area code, including parts of Northeast Ohio and Greater Cleveland, which additionally encompasses all of Ashtabula, Geauga, Lake, and Lorain counties and portions of Cuyahoga, Erie, Huron and Trumbull counties.
Because the transition is an overlay plan, the change affects only new numbers, PUCO confirmed — existing code customers have no action to take.
The start date for 436 is March 1.
An area code reaches exhaust when nearly all of the telephone prefixes, or NXX codes, within that code are assigned. NXX codes are the first three digits of a phone number that follow the code. There are 792 possible NXX prefixes in each code, each consisting of 10,000 numbers.
While the Federal Communications Commission has jurisdiction over telephone number administration, officials added, the North American Numbering Plan Administrator manages the administration and assignment of area codes in the United States.
Moreover, the FCC grants each state the authority to decide how to introduce new area codes.
In Ohio, PUCO makes the decisions, explained Brittany Waugaman, communications specialist with the office of public affairs, noting the code is being implemented to prepare for the projected third-quarter 2024 exhaust of the 440 area code.
“The number 436 was chosen on Jan. 6 by NANPA,” she said, adding that, as a result of the nationwide implementation of the 988 dialing code for the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, customers in the 440 area code are already transitioning to 10-digit dialing.
“They (NANPA) also forecast exhaust dates and notify us, which are subject to change,” Waugaman continued. “A chart of upcoming exhausts can be found on our website.
“The commission, too, has directed the telecommunications industry to file implementation and communications plans (with us) to notify their customers.”
While the overall three-digit exchange exhaust is imminent, remnants may remain, the commission emphasized, as 440 can continue to be issued as numbers become available through discontinued service.
“Those numbers can be reassigned,” Waugaman said.
In 1996, the 330 area code was established in a split from the 216 code and was the state’s first new code since 1947.
In 1997, 440 was created to separate from 216, the sole code in Ohio which currently carries no overlay — however, according to PUCO, it will exhaust its exchanges in the fourth quarter of 2039.
“Additionally, the 330/234 area code is projected to see an exhaust in the fourth quarter of 2037,” Waugaman said.
For more information, visit puco.ohio.gov.
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