Area code 856

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Area Code 856 is an area code in the U.S. state of New Jersey created in 1999 by a split of area code 609.[1] It covers southwestern New Jersey, in particular the Camden/Cherry Hill and Vineland areas, as well as a very small part of Willingboro Township, along with the western part of Burlington County, while 609 covers the rest of Willingboro and the areas to the north and east.[2] Essentially, 856 covers the areas directly adjacent to Philadelphia. The coverage area is comprised of the eastern suburbs of Philadelphia. In that sense, 856 very much mirrors area code 201, which directly abuts New York City in the northern part of the state.

It is assigned to both landlines and cell phones, but many people living in this area have a cell phone number beginning with the 609 area code.

[edit] History

Area code 201 was rolled out in 1951 as the first area code to be assigned in the United States as part of the North American Numbering Plan, covering the entire state of New Jersey with a single area code.[3][4] Until 1963, 201 was the only area code serving New Jersey; That year, the state split the area code, with the southern portion of the state becoming area code 609.[5]

With the increasing demand for phone numbers needed for businesses, fax machines, pagers and cell phones, the 609 area code rapidly exhausted its capacity.[6] The 856 area code was announced by Bell Atlantic in March 1999 and approved by the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities shortly thereafter. The new area code 856 came into effect on June 12, 1999. For the following five months, permissive dialing was allowed, with calls completed even if area code 856 was not dialed as part of a 10-digit phone number. As of November 13, 1999, use of the area code was required to complete calls from outside the area code.[2]

[edit] See also

State of New Jersey Area Codes: 201, 551, 609, 732, 848, 856, 862, 908, 973
North: 215/267
West: 215/267/610/484 856 East: 609
South: 302
State of Delaware Area Code: 302
Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Area Codes: 215, 267, 412, 484, 570, 610, 717, 724, 814, 835, 878


[edit] References

  1. ^ IN BRIEF; 609 Divided by 2 Will Equal Area Code 856 - New York Times. Retrieved on 2007-07-08.
  2. ^ a b New Area Code Assigned to New Jersey, Bell Atlantic press release dated March 9, 1999. Accessed July 3, 2007.
  3. ^ Now you can call, if your calls don't work some business lines aren't set up to all to new area codes., The Virginian-Pilot, November 1, 1995. Accessed June 8, 2007. "When the first area code, 201, was introduced in New Jersey in 1951, phone-numbering experts thought there would be enough codes with a middle digit of '0' or '1' to last well into the next century."
  4. ^ 1951: First Direct-Dial Transcontinental Telephone Call, AT&T, accessed May 12, 2007.
  5. ^ About Verizon New Jersey: Years 1931 to 1969, Verizon Communications, accessed May 12, 2007.
  6. ^ Breidenbaugh, R.C. Geographic Split of 609 (New Jersey) NPA; addition of 856 NPA. May 1999 NXX updates, North American Numbering Plan Planning Letter dated May 5, 1999. Accessed July 4, 2007.