Area code 717

Area code 716 Area code 585 Area code 845 Area code 607 Area code 570 Area code 862/973 Area code 908 Area code 609 Area code 215/267 Area codes 484/610/835 Area code 717 Area code 302 Area code 856 Area code 412/878 Area code 814 Area code 410/443 Area code 240/301 Area code 724/878 Area code 440 Area code 234/330 Area code 304/681Area code 717
Pennsylvania in blue with Area Code 717 shown in red. This map is clickable; click on a neighboring area code to go to the page for that code.

Area code 717 is a telephone area code which serves South Central Pennsylvania. It covers the Harrisburg, Lancaster and York metropolitan areas with a population of nearly 2 million people, as well as most of the area generally known as Pennsylvania Dutch Country.

717 was one of the original area codes established in 1947. It originally covered the eastern half of the state except for the Delaware and Lehigh valleys. It stretched from the Maryland border to the south to the New York and New Jersey borders, making it the largest of Pennsylvania's original four area codes and the second-largest east of the Mississippi River that didn't cover an entire state (behind Michigan's 616).

Despite the presence of five of the state's 15 largest cities—Harrisburg, Lancaster, York, Scranton and Wilkes-Barre—this part of Pennsylvania is not as densely populated as the Delaware and Lehigh Valleys. As a result, for the next 41 years, 717 was the largest area code on the Eastern Seaboard. It was pushed slightly eastward in 1994 as part of the split of Philadelphia's 215, when a number of outer Philadelphia suburbs that were slated to transfer to 610 were instead shifted to 717. These areas were served by non-Bell telephone companies who wanted to consolidate their eastern Pennsylvania customers into a single area code.

By the mid-1990s, the proliferation of cell phones, pagers, and fax machines made it apparent that the region needed another area code. The 717 area code was split on December 5, 1998, when the northern portion (centered on Scranton, [Wilkes-Barre and Williamsport) became area code 570.

As of May 2005, the subscriber number pool of the 717 area code was allocated by 52%, with 48% still unassigned.

The Pennsylvania Utility Commission has known since 2010 that 717 will likely exhaust by the second quarter of 2018. They are currently weighing whether to overlay the 717 region with a second area code, or split the 717 territory along an east-west boundary. Under a split plan, one half would retain 717 and the other half would get a new area code. The former plan would make ten-digit dialing mandatory in the 717 territory, while the latter would preserve seven-digit dialing within each region. Most telephone companies in south-central Pennsylvania support an overlay. Most of those who testified as a public hearing also support an overlay, as it would avoid the expense and burden of changing their numbers.[1] In late October 2016, an overlay was approved for relief with new area code 223, effective sometime in 2017. The exact date was not yet announced. The only area code in Pennsylvania that will not be overlaid is 814.

Service area

The 717 area code serves parts of sixteen counties in Pennsylvania.[2]

See also

References

  1. ↑ http://www.pennlive.com/news/2016/08/with_717_numbers_in_limited_su.html#incart_2box
  2. ↑ http://www.puc.state.pa.us/telecom/pdf/areacode/717_ACMap.pdf

External links

Pennsylvania area codes: 215, 267, 272, 412, 484, 570, 610, 717, 724, 814, 878
North: 570/272
West: 814 area code 717 East: 610/484
South: 301/240, 410/443/667
Maryland area codes: 240/301, 410/443/667

Coordinates: 40°15′43″N 77°29′49″W / 40.262°N 77.497°W / 40.262; -77.497

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