List of Colorado area codes
The U.S. state of Colorado is divided into three numbering plan areas in the North American Numbering Plan, with a total of six area codes.
| Area code(s) | Numbering plan area |
|---|---|
| 303, 720, 983 † | Greater Denver Metropolitan Area |
| 719 | southeastern, east central, and south central Colorado |
| 970, 748 † | northern and western Colorado |
| † overlay complex | |
Area code 748 is scheduled to be added to numbering plan area 970 in 2025.[2]
History
[edit]Area code 303 is one of the original North American area codes of 1947, and originally served the entire state of Colorado. It remained the state's sole area code for 40 years.
Colorado's growth in the second half of the 20th century, particularly in the Denver/Boulder area, created a shortage of numbering resources, so that relief planning was initiated in 1987. On March 5, 1988, southeastern Colorado, including Colorado Springs and Pueblo, was split from 303 and received area code 719.[3]
This was intended as a long-term solution, but within five years further demand for numbers and the proliferation of cell phones and pagers (especially in and around Denver) forced another split. The northeastern and western portions of area code 303, including Fort Collins, Grand Junction, Vail and Aspen, were separated on April 2, 1995, and became area code 970. This split reduced 303 to the Denver-Boulder area.[4] With the 1995 split, 303 was the only Colorado area code that did not border another state.
Within two years, continued sharp growth in the Front Range made further relief necessary. The Front Range is home not only to most of Colorado's landlines, but also most of the state's cell phones, fax machines, and pagers. On September 1, 1998, area code 720 was instituted in the 303 service area to create an overlay.[5]
In 2020, the North American Numbering Plan Administrator estimated that the Denver metropolitan area would reach numbering exhaustion by 2023.[6] On May 21, 2021, the Colorado Public Utilities Commission approved an additional 983 area code for the all-services distributed overlay of NPA 303/720.[7][8] Area code 983 was activated on June 17, 2022. This addition resulted in 23.8 million numbers being assigned to an area of about 3.5 million people.[9]
In 2023, the North American Numbering Plan Administrator estimated that area code 970 would reach exhaustion mitigation levels by 2026. On December 18, 2023, the Colorado Public Utilities Commission approved the addition of area code 748 for the all-services distributed overlay of NPA 970.[2] No central office codes in area code 748 will be allowed to be installed before complete exhaustion of area code 970.
Area code assignments by community
[edit]| † | County seat |
| # | State capital |
See also
[edit]
- Geography of Colorado
- List of Colorado-related lists
- List of North American Numbering Plan area codes
References
[edit]- ^ "Colorado area codes map". NANPA. Retrieved 2025-05-06.
- ^ a b Zialcita, Paolo (December 18, 2023). "A new area code is coming to northern and western Colorado in 2026". Colorado Public Radio. Retrieved May 6, 2025.
- ^ "Information Letter 87-03-045: Split of the 303 Numbering Plan Area (NPA)" (PDF). NANPA/Bellcore. 1987-03-27. Retrieved 2025-05-06.
- ^ "Information Letter 94/09-012: NANP-Split of 303 (Colorado) Numbering Plan Area (NPA)" (PDF). NANPA. 1994-09-21. Retrieved 2025-05-06.
- ^ MICHAEL LOVELL (August 31, 1998). "10-Digit Dialing Hits Denver Area". Reuters. Retrieved 2019-06-10.
- ^ 2020-1 NRUF and NPA Exhaust Analysis (PDF), retrieved 2021-05-09
- ^ "Planning Letter 563: NPA 983 and 303/720 All-Services Overlay (Colorado)" (PDF). NANPA. 2021-07-29. Retrieved 2025-05-06.
- ^ "Denver's new area code starts in 2022". Retrieved 2021-05-27.
- ^ "Colorado Counties by Population".
External links
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News from Wikinews
Quotations from Wikiquote
Travel information from Wikivoyage
