Three more digits are coming to join “305” and “786” as markers of what it means to be digitally connected in South Florida.
That’s because Miami-Dade County and the Florida Keys are getting a new area code, “645,” starting next week.
Beginning Friday, area customers who request new phone numbers will be assigned the “645” area code, the Florida Public Service Commission said in a news release on Friday.
The new area code will supplement the existing codes of “305” and “786” which already are used for the Miami area and the Florida Keys. The code is called an “overlay” which means it covers the same geographic area as the 305 and 786 codes.
“While minimizing the impact to current customers, the Commission must plan for the continuing influx of new residents and businesses to the region — a testament to South Florida’s growing economy,” Andrew Giles Fay, the commission’s chairman said in a statement. “The new 645 area code will ensure that customer demand for new lines is met.”
Palm Beach County, for example, got a new overlay code — “728” — in March that serves the 561 area code. And early next year, another overlay code is planned for the area around Jacksonville, where the 324 area code is planned to overlay the existing 904 area code.
Area codes date back to 1947 and are overseen by an organization called the North American Numbering Plan (NANP) that coordinates phone numbers for the U.S. and 19 other countries. As the supply of telephone numbers are exhausted, new area codes are opened up.
There are 789 possible combinations under current plan rules, with 321 available area codes remaining as of January, the organization reported.
And if you didn’t have enough to worry about, it’s also forecast that within the next few decades, the supply of three-digit area codes will run out.
Last October, NANP reported new three-digit area codes could run out by 2047 – possibly meaning that one or more digits will have to be added your existing phone number in the years to come.
Tony Winton is the editor-in-chief of the Key Biscayne Independent and president of Miami Fourth Estate, Inc. He worked previously at The Associated Press for three decades winning multiple Edward R. Murrow awards. He was president of the News Media Guild, a journalism union, for 10 years. Born in Chicago, he is a graduate of Columbia University. His interests are photography and technology, sailing, cooking, and science fiction.