Area codes 256 and 938

{{short description|Area codes for northern Alabama, United States}}

Area codes 256 and 938 are telephone area codes in the North American Numbering Plan (NANP) for North Alabama, as well as some eastern portions of the state. The two area codes form an overlay plan for the same numbering plan area. Area code 256 was created in 1998, and 938 was added in 2010.

History

Area code 256 was created on March 23, 1998, in an area code split from area code 205. A permissive dialing period, that permitted time to reprogram computers, cell phones, pagers and fax machines, allowed the use of 205 through September 28, 1998.

In March 2009, the Alabama Public Service Commission announced that the state's first all-services overlay area code, 938, would be added to the area of the 256 area code "sometime in 2011". As a result, ten-digit dialing was implemented for all numbers in the area with voluntary compliance beginning on November 7, 2009, and mandatory use by June 5, 2010, instead of dialing 7 digits. The 938 area code took effect on July 10, 2010. This timing roughly coincided with the end of the originally projected 12-year "life span" of the original 256 area code.

Service area

The numbering plan area comprises north and northeast Alabama and includes the following metropolitan areas:

=Counties=

Blount County (part, near Arab on Brindlee Mountain, most of Blount County is in area code 205)
Calhoun County (part, some of Calhoun County is in area code 205)
Cherokee County
Clay County
Cleburne County
Colbert County
Coosa County
Cullman County
DeKalb County
Elmore County (part, most of Elmore County is in area code 334)
Etowah County (part, some of Etowah County is in area code 205)
Franklin County (part, some of Franklin County is in area code 205)
Jackson County
Lawrence County
Lauderdale County
Limestone County
Madison County
Marshall County
Morgan County
Randolph County (part, some of Randolph County is in area code 334)
Saint Clair County (part, the Steele area. Most of Saint Clair County is in area code 205)
Talladega County (part, the Lincoln area is in area code 205)
Tallapoosa County (part, some of Tallapoosa County is in area code 334)
Winston County (part, most of Winston County is in area code 205)

=Cities=

References

{{Reflist|refs=

{{cite news |work=The Birmingham News |agency=Associated Press |title=10-digit calls in Alabama's 256 area code to begin |url=http://blog.al.com/spotnews/2009/10/10-digit_calls_in_alabamas_256.html |date=October 6, 2009 |access-date=April 6, 2012}}

{{cite web |publisher=Alabama Public Service Commission |url=http://www.psc.state.al.us/telecom/newitems/256_Relief_Plan_Order.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090319201836/http://www.psc.state.al.us/telecom/newitems/256_Relief_Plan_Order.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-date=March 19, 2009 |title=Order for Relief of the 256 Numbering Plan Area |date=March 3, 2009 }}

{{cite press release |publisher=AT&T |title=Introducing Alabama's New Area Code 938 |url=http://bellsouth.com/areacode/ALOverlayInsertRev3.pdf |date=November 2009 |access-date=February 5, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100918152215/http://bellsouth.com/areacode/ALOverlayInsertRev3.pdf |archive-date=September 18, 2010 |url-status=dead }}

{{cite news |first=Bob |last=Lowry |work=The Huntsville Times |title=Flex your fingers for 10-digit dialing in 2010 |url=http://www.al.com/news/huntsvilletimes/local.ssf?/base/news/123616178931610.xml&coll=1 |date=March 4, 2009}}

{{cite news |first=Jerry |last=Underwood |title=Countdown starts to new area code: 2...5...6 |work=The Birmingham News |page=1A |date=March 16, 1998 }}

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