Southwest Ohio's 513 area code is expected to run out of available phone numbers by late 2023, so a new area code will be added to the mix.
The Public Utilities Commission of Ohio approved a plan Wednesday to overlay 283 as a new area code over the existing 513, which is expected to run out by the fourth quarter of 2023.
All current 513 area code subscribers will continue to maintain their current number and area code, according to a news release.
The 283 implementation date as a new area code has not yet been determined, but once it begins, all new phone subscribers will be assigned a phone number with the new area code.
Adding a second area code for the 513 region of Ohio has been in the works since at least 1999, when the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio began an investigation into "exhaust relief for area code 513," according to the case record. It was closed in 2014.
The Office of the Ohio Consumers' Council has also been preparing consumers for the emergence of 283, which will be assigned "as soon as all 513 telephone numbers are in use."
In October, mandatory 10-digit dialing was implemented in Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky, meaning all calls are required to dial the area code plus the seven-digit number for calls within Cincinnati's 513 area code and Northern Kentucky's 859 area code. Local phone numbers, including area codes, have not changed.
More:10-digit, area code dialing will be required in Cincinnati, Northern Kentucky
This move was necessary as the FCC adopted a new three-digit number, 988, in July 2020 to reach the National Suicide Prevention and Mental Health Crisis Lifeline nationwide.
According to the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio, there are a total of 673 usable area codes for assignment, as compared to 119 in service in the U.S in 1991. Of those, 443 are currently in service in North America as of September 2021: 352 for the U.S. and its territories, 49 in Canada and the remaining 42 in Bermuda and Caribbean countries that participate in the North American Numbering Plan.
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