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Press ReleaseNew Area Codes Assigned to Georgia's 912 Calling Area WASHINGTON, D.C. (Oct. 18, 1999) - Georgia's 912 area code, which covers the southern part of the state and borders Florida, Alabama, and South Carolina, will receive two new area codes - 478 and 229 - as part of three-way geographic split plan, according to the Communications Industry Services (CIS) group of NeuStar, Inc., which serves as the North American Numbering Plan Administration (NANPA). Phone customers in the northern central section of the 912 calling area, which includes Macon, Warner Robins, Dublin and Milledgeville will receive the 478 area code. The western portion of the 912 area code, which borders Alabama and Florida and includes Americus, Albany, Fitzgerald Valdosta, Thomasville, and Bainbridge will receive the 229 area code. The Eastern part of the 912 calling area, which includes Vidalia, Douglas, Waycross, Brunswick and Savannah retains the 912 area code. A list of counties and exchanges in each of the three area codes follows. The assignment of the new 478 and 229 area codes comes after the Georgia Public Service Commission approved the three-way geographic split plan for area code relief on Sept. 29. The introduction of the 478 and 229 area codes will not affect the price of telephone calls. Local calls will remain local calls regardless of the area code dialed. To introduce the new 478 and 229 area codes, a one-year "permissive dialing" period will begin August 1, 2000 and run through August, 1,2001. During the permissive dialing period, calls made from outside the area can use either the 912, 478 or 229 area codes when completing a call to customers in the current 912 calling area. Customers are encouraged to start using the 10-digit phone number (area code+phone number) when calling to the new 478 and 229 regions during the permissive dialing period. Once mandatory dialing begins, callers will need to use the correct area code to complete their calls. After August 1, 2001, callers who don't use the new area code will receive a recorded message reminding them that the area code has changed. They will be required to redial the number using the proper area code. Customers in the new 478 and 229 area codes will still be able to make calls to other numbers in their respective area codes by dialing just the seven-digit number. Thomas C. Foley, NANPA's area code relief planner for the Eastern Region, including Georgia, said the introduction of the split area codes is needed due to an increase in competition in the local phone service market, the growing demand by the public for additional telephone numbers, and a technical requirement in the phone network that allocates phone numbers in blocks of 10,000. When switching to or adding a new area code, Foley said there are several items customers should remember including:
Area code relief activities are administered by CIS, which was selected by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to serve as the NANPA. NANPA is a neutral, third-party administrator that works with the telecommunications industry in developing area code relief plans and also oversees the assignment of area codes, three-digit central office codes, carrier identification codes, and other numbering resources throughout the U.S, Canada, Bermuda, and 16 Caribbean countries. *Click here to get 912-229-478 map. County (City) List for 912 Area Code County (City) List for 478 Area Code County (City) List for 229 Area Code
For media inquiries, please contact Bill Stern, spokesman for the North American Numbering Plan Administration, at 202-533-2648. |
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