New area code set to make debut as New York is again running out of phone numbers

[Shortline Bus]

New area code set to make debut as New York is again running out of phone numbers

BY Robert Dominguez

NY DAILY NEWS BUSINESS WRITER

 

Saturday, February 26th 2011

 

 

Beginning April 16, citizens of the outer boroughs could end up getting a 929 area code. Old-school New Yorkers who had a tough time coming to grips with losing their 212 area code, take heed.

 

The city is getting yet another one.

 

Beginning April 16, citizens of the Bronx, Brooklyn, Queens and Staten Island who request a new service or line could end up getting a 929 area code.

 

The reason is simple: New York is again running out of phone numbers.

 

Even with the additions of 718, 917, 646 and 347 in recent years, the rapid growth in mobile phone use means the city will face a shortage of numbers as soon as next year.

 

With advance planning, "Phone numbers will never actually run out," said Verizon spokesman John Bonomo.

 

"People move and businesses and customers change services. But with the proliferation of smart phones and cell phones and other communication devices, all those things take up a lot of numbers and a new area code is necessary," he added.

 

The good news?

 

Unlike the advent of the 718 area code on phone lines in 1984 that forced some New Yorkers to change from 212 - and the status that supposedly went with it - existing phone numbers won't change.

 

"Having a certain area code is quite different than it was in the past," Bonomo said.

 

"These days, you may have a 917 on your cell phone and be based in Tulsa, Okla."

 

 

http://www.nydailynews.com/money/2011/02/26/2011-02-26_area_code_929_ah_you_must_be_from_new_york.html

[LRG]

(929) 555-0123...dialing. Please wait....

[error46146]

the phone # of your cell phone i think depends on where you register it..if I move to canada or something I still keep my 646 number

[Joe]

I know for sure that with Verizon, the sales rep can choose your area code when you purchase a new line.

 

A friend of mine has his residence in Queens but purchased his phone in Connecticut...he was given the option of a 203 or whatever-the-hell-Queens-uses area code.

[Shortline Bus]

the phone # of your cell phone i think depends on where you register it..if I move to canada or something I still keep my 646 number

 

Error, you aware that Canada uses the same area code/phone system as us here in America right?

 

 

I am sure the first customers to get this '929' area code will get hung up from people thinking this is a # from say North Daokta.:eek:

[553 Bridgeton]

Well I still have my 646.

[Shortline Bus]

Well I still have my 646.

 

Hey 553 keep it. Not sure how true it is but I heard from news stories that some people are actually offering up to $500 or more on Ebay and other websites for access to an oringal NYC area code of '212.' Especially for landline '212' access.

 

"212" has ran out years ago and only available when say someone changes/disconnects it, moves, etc.

 

Talk about how America is a strange country, it's only a damn phone # not something priceless like a pet or a drawing.:confused:

[R110B]

i like 929! matches my bday! and all that good stuff.

[LRG]

I'd love to have a 212 area code for my cell phone, but that's only in a pipedream sadly

 

Oh well...should I decide to get a new phone in the coming months I might run into lady luck and the area code is a 929.

[Roadcruiser1]

I like my area code 718.

[SevenEleven]

Time to go register a new Google Voice account and pick out a 929 number.

[4P3607]

I use 347 for My cell & Home phones. My Mom & dad have a 646 area code. They used to use 917, but thats over.

I remember I use to have a 718 area code. That was gone when I switched to Time Warner Cable.

I do remember seeing a Place In manhattan with a 646 area code, and I remember seeing one in Queens with a 212 area code. not sure where.

[Cait Sith]

Time to go register a new Google Voice account and pick out a 929 number.

 

I should do the same...

[tvega961]

I still like my 917.

[mark1447]

In the year 3000 or even 4000 we will run out of the 100s-900s number then we get 1000s

 

(1002) 123 -4569

[Infamous85]

Last summer when I got an iPhone I had an option of 347, 718, 516, 631, etc. I regret choosing 718, I just hate the number "718" first of all plus I'm always getting calls from bill collectors hunting down some lady lol. Maybe I'll change it to 929, I like the sound of it.

[7LineFan]

Is 929 going to be solely for cell phones like 917 or will it be a mix of landlines and cell lines?

[lilbluefoxie]

in an age, where everyone and their kids have their own cell phones, who didnt see this coming. Im sure its going to happen in other places as well, and soon we will need another area code

[Fresh Pond]

Looks like another area code I gotta get. I had all of them at one point or another, even had 973 when I had my sidekick...and that's somewhere in Jersey :eek:. When I had that 973, I would always get calls from people looking for Julio and none of them spoke english

[error46146]

In the year 3000 or even 4000 we will run out of the 100s-900s number then we get 1000s

 

(1002) 123 -4569

That wouldn't work as 1 is the country code for us..when you punch in 10021234569 you're really punching 1-(002)-123-4569 (just like how you have to punch in 1-718 or 1-800 now)

[Shortline Bus]

in an age, where everyone and their kids have their own cell phones, who didnt see this coming. Im sure its going to happen in other places as well, and soon we will need another area code

 

It already has Foxie. In LA they had '213' forever. In last 20 years or so, I think Southern Calif alone from LA-San Diego now has 8-10 area codes, which includes both landline and mobile #'s.:confused:

[MHV9218]

Please, watch the Nazi Banksters Crimes Ripple Effect at http://jforjustice.co.uk/banksters

[Joe]

212 is one of the original area codes from '47 when the plan was devised. It's also the fastest area code to dial on a rotary telephone.

[PATCOman]

i like 929! matches my bday! and all that good stuff.

 

lol mine too!

[Shortline Bus]

:eek:

$500? Yeah? Wow.

 

I've got two 212 landlines since the phones here haven't changed in 30 years. Had no idea that was something valuable, guess I'll be cherishing those numbers...

 

I know at first many people getting this new '929' code in Metro NYC may not be happy and get confused and feel it's the code for say Idaho.