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Area codes 610, 484, and 835

Coordinates: 40°05′10″N 75°21′25″W / 40.086°N 75.357°W / 40.086; -75.357
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Area code 484Area code 716Area code 585Area code 607Area code 845Area codes 973 and 862Area code 908Area codes 410 and 443Area code 302Area codes 240 and 301Area codes 304 and 681Area codes 330 and 234Area code 440Area code 724Area code 878Area code 724Area code 814Area codes 272 and 570Area codes 610, 484, and 835Area code 856Area codes 215, 267, and 445Area codes 609 and 640Area codes 223 and 717Area code 412
Pennsylvania (blue) with numbering plan area 484 shown in red.

Area codes 610, 484, and 835 are telephone area codes in the North American Numbering Plan (NANP) for the eastern and southeastern regions of Pennsylvania. The numbering plan area (NPA) includes regions to the west of Philadelphia and the cities Allentown, Bethlehem, and Reading. It includes much of the Delaware Valley, including almost all of Delaware County, most of the Philadelphia Main Line, and all of the Lehigh Valley.

History

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Area code 610 was assigned on January 8, 1994, in an area code split from numbering plan area 215, which had been the entire southeast quadrant of Pennsylvania since 1947. Permissive dialing of both 215 and 610 continued until the morning of January 7, 1995.[1] It was Pennsylvania's first new area code since the definition of the area code system in 1947.

Three exchanges which would have switched to 610 were instead switched to 717, the area code for most of the eastern half of the state outside of the lower Delaware and Lehigh Valleys. The central office prefixes were 267 at Denver, 445 at Terre Hill, and 484 at Adamstown with 267 being renumbered as 717-336 because 717-267 was already in use at Chambersburg. These exchanges were all served by independent, non-Bell telephone companies, which sought to consolidate their eastern Pennsylvania customers into one area code and would have had to change area codes regardless.

This was intended as a long-term solution, but further growth in the region over the subsequent five years, and the proliferation of cell phones and pagers, spurred the introduction of area code 484 as an overlay for the 610 region on June 5, 1999, along with the introduction of mandatory ten-digit dialing.[2]

Area code 835 was intended as an additional code for the 610/484 overlay, as announced by the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission in May 2000, and to be implemented in 2001. However, newly developed, more efficient number pooling measures were introduced instead, eliminating the immediate need for the new area code. The Commission formally withdrew plans for the new code on June 23, 2005, although the code remained reserved for later use within Pennsylvania if necessary.[3] Area code 835 was eventually approved by the Public Utility Commission on December 2, 2021. Assignment of central office codes in the new area code began on September 2, 2022.[4]

When area codes were introduced in 1947, their middle digit was either 0 or 1. In 1994, area code 610 was the last area code assigned with digit 1 in that position. The next new area codes assigned in 1995 (334 in Alabama, and 360 in Washington state) were the first interchangeable area codes.

Prior usage of 610 for TWX

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In 1962, AT&T assigned NPA 610 for conversion to dial service of the Teletypewriter Exchange Service in Canada.[5][6] While Telex II use of area codes was terminated in 1981 in the U.S. by Western Union, Canadian use of 610 continued until October 31, 1993, when it was exchanged in a flash cut for area code 600 for non-geographic applications.[7]

Service area

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The following counties and municipalities are in the numbering plan area:

Counties

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Towns and cities

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See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Bellcore Letter Number IL-93/01-001: NANP-Split of 215 (Pennsylvania) Numbering Plan Area (NPA)" (PDF). NANPA. 1993-01-05. Retrieved 2023-08-15.
  2. ^ "Area Codes in Southeast Pennsylvania", Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission
  3. ^ "PUC withdraws 835 overlay in 610/484 area codes", Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission, June 23, 2005
  4. ^ "Planning Letter 578: NPA 835 and 484/610 All-Services Overlay (Pennsylvania)" (PDF). NANPA. 2022-01-13. Retrieved 2023-07-20.
  5. ^ Tyberghein, E.J. (July 1962). "TWX Goes Dial". Bell Laboratories Record: 232.
  6. ^ Traffic Routing Guide, sec. 15-16, AT&T, 1975
  7. ^ "Introduction of Service Access Code (SAC) 600 to Canada" (PDF). Bellcore (NANPA). 1993-04-15. Retrieved 2023-08-14.
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Pennsylvania area codes: 215/267/445, 412, 570/272, 610/484/835, 717/223, 724, 814/582, 878
North: 570/272
West: 717/223 484/610/835 East: 215/267/445, 856, 609/640, 908
South: 302, 410/443/667, 856
Delaware area codes: 302
Maryland area codes: 301/240/227, 410/443/667
New Jersey area codes: 201/551, 609/640, 732/848, 856, 908, 973/862

40°05′10″N 75°21′25″W / 40.086°N 75.357°W / 40.086; -75.357

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