Number's not up yet for 207 area code, regulator says

Courtesy / Pixabay Maine's 207 area code has been around since 1947.

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Maine's utility regulator said it's not ready to call time on the 207 statewide area code, now that new data show it won't be used up until the end of 2025, a year after originally feared.

The Maine Public Utilities Commission, based in Hallowell, said Tuesday that it is postponing "relief planning efforts" to save the area code after getting notice from the North American Numbering Plan Administrator that the life of the 207 number has been extended by another year.

Previously, available telephone numbers with the area code were expected to be exhausted in the fourth quarter of 2024, prompting the PUC to open a probe last year into Verizon's forecasting process for numbering resources.

Members of Maine's congressional delegation also weighed in, urging federal authorities in a letter last August to "explore all possibilities" to preserve the number.

In 2021, the PUC petitioned the Federal Communications Commission to direct the NANPA to report on the technical, operational and cost requirements to implement number optimization measures in the 207 area code.

The FCC requested that an FCC working group on numbering report back by August 2022 regarding the feasibility of implementing new number conservation measures such as individual telephone numbering pooling proposed by Maine and other states.

In the meantime, PUC efforts have resulted in the return of more than 600,000 numbers to the numbering pool from unused or slightly used blocks, the agency said in Tuesday's news release.

"Maine's 207 area code was dwindling rapidly, but through the diligent efforts of Commission staff in the telecommunications division and others, we have significantly extended its life," said Philip L. Bartlett II, who chairs the three-member PUC.

The regulator said the efforts include retiring unused numbering blocks to the pool through an upcoming PUC investigation; working with Consolidated Communications to reduce the number of rate centers that are driving some of the area code requests; and investigating the forecasting practices of companies besides Verizon that may have unnecessarily contributed to an earlier exhaust date.

"This provides us with some breathing room, giving us an opportunity to extend this timeline even further through additional efforts," Bartlett said. "We will continue to do what we can to preserve Maine's single area code for as long as possible," he added.

Maine is one of only a dozen states with a single area code, and 207 was one of the original North American area codes created in 1947.

U.S. Sen. Angus King, I-Maine, who served as Maine's governor from 1995 to 2003, welcomed news of keeping the single area code a while longer.

“Splitting Maine into two separate area codes would create significant headaches for individuals and businesses and undermine a longstanding cultural identity that binds our state together — because when you see someone with a 207 number, you know you’re talking to a neighbor,” he said in a statement emailed to Mainebiz.

“I’ve fought to maintain 207 as Maine’s only area code since before I entered the governor’s mansion, and I’m grateful to see that the MPUC is continuing to take steps to preserve this convenient element of Maine life.”