A new area code is coming to parts of Maryland currently served by area codes 240 and 301. The Maryland Public Service Commission recently announced that phone numbers with a 227 area code are expected to begin showing up next year.

The phone numbers of anyone with existing 240 or 301 area codes will not change, according to a news release from the public service commission. The new area code is being introduced because of the dwindling availability of numbers. No new 227 numbers will be assigned until all 240 and 301 numbers are depleted, which is predicted to happen in or around June 2023, said Tori Leonard, communications director for the commission.

“More people, more devices that use phone numbers and limited supply is what has led to this point,” Leonard said.

The new area code was approved about 20 years ago, and now the North American Numbering Plan Administrator — a third party responsible for allocating telephone numbering resources — predicts 227 will be needed soon, Leonard said. Last month, the commission approved a petition the administrator filed to begin the rollout of 227.

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Baltimore is not in the geographic area affected by the change, which covers the following counties:

To prepare for the introduction of 227, Maryland residents should verify that all phone numbers stored in their devices contain area codes and check that tools including automatic dialers, life-safety and medical alert systems, security systems, security gates, call-forwarding settings and voicemail services recognize numbers with 227 area codes as valid, according to the news release.

There will be no changes to the way residents dial numbers, the commission said.

The 301 area code, which dates back to 1947, served all of Maryland for more than 40 years, according to the North American Numbering Plan Administrator. But then the state was split in 1991 to have two area codes, with Baltimore and Annapolis adopting the 410 area code. The introduction of 240/301 and 410/443 overlays came in 1997, according to the NANPA. And the most recent time a new area code debuted in Maryland was in 2012, when 667 — which serves the eastern half of the state — was introduced.

alissa.zhu@thebaltimorebanner.com

Alissa Zhu

alissa.zhu@thebaltimorebanner.com

Alissa Zhu

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