Who decides when a new area code is needed?
The North American Numbering Plan Administration (NANPA), currently administered by Neustar, studies historic growth, makes projections for future growth and notifies the PUC when a new area code is needed. The affected area code is described as being near “exhaust.” NANPA administers the area code system designed in the 1940s by AT&T and Bell Laboratories to route long distance calls automatically. In 1947 Texas received its first four area codes: 214, 512, 713 and 915. NANPA is also the source of all telephone numbers. It assigns the prefixes within any area code to a telecommunications company.
