area codes 916 and 279

{{short description|Area codes in Sacramento, California, United States}}

Area codes 916 and 279 are telephone area codes in the North American Numbering Plan for Sacramento, the state capital, and most of its suburbs.

Area code 916 was one of the first three original area codes established in California in October 1947, originally assigned to the most northern part, but remapped in 1950 to the northeast. Area code splits have reduced the numbering plan area to the greater Sacramento area. Area code 279 began service in an overlay in March 2018 to relieve an exhausted supply of central office codes in 916.

History

Originally, in 1947, the numbering plan area comprised the far northern portion of the state. In 1950, as part of a realignment of California's area codes, 916 was remapped to the northeastern corner of California, from the Sierra Nevada to the Central Valley. This involved changing Sacramento from area code 415 to 916.{{Citation needed|date = October 2017}}

In 1958, 916 was reduced in geographic extend in the north, with the creation of new area code 209 for the southern part.

The numbering plan area was split again in a flash-cut on March 1, 1959, when area code 707 was created out of the northwest portion. On November 1, 1997, it was split again. The northeastern portion, including Redding, Yreka and Mount Shasta, became area code 530, reducing the 916 numbering plan area to Sacramento and its immediate area. Simultaneously, Dixon was reassigned from 916 to 707. This split left 916 as the only one of the original 86 area codes that no longer contains any part of its original area.{{Cite web|title=1947 Area Code Assignment Map|url=http://www.areacode-info.com/!maps/images/NANP1947.gif|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://wayback.archive-it.org/all/20080408094911/http://www.areacode-info.com/!maps/images/NANP1947.gif|archive-date=April 8, 2008|access-date=April 14, 2021|website=areacode-info.com}}

In 2017, the CPUC approved an overlay area code to take effect in 2018, as all available prefixes were expected to be allocated by December 2018.{{Cite news|last=Lillis|first=Ryan|last2=Fletcher|first2=Ed|date=March 29, 2016|title=Sacramento region eyes new area code as 916 phone numbers run out|work=The Sacramento Bee|url=https://www.sacbee.com/news/local/article68813762.html|access-date=April 14, 2021}} On February 9, 2017, the CPUC announced that the new overlay area code would be area code 279.{{Cite web|last=Renee|first=Alexa|date=February 10, 2017|title=How is a new area code selected?|url=http://www.abc10.com/news/local/how-is-a-new-area-code-selected/406846052|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170212091017/http://www.abc10.com/news/local/how-is-a-new-area-code-selected/406846052|archive-date=February 12, 2017|access-date=April 14, 2021|website=abc10.com}} The new area code began service on March 10, 2018.[http://www.cpuc.ca.gov/916areacode/ 916 Area Code]. California Public Utilities Commission. Accessed on 2016-08-12.