To those of you still getting used to dialing 8-3-2, brace yourselves…Houston is getting a new area code. The Texas Public Utility Commission (PUC) announced Thursday afternoon that, due to the region’s continual boom in population, Bayou City residents will receive area code 346 to help with an ever-growing demand for phone numbers. The new code will debut on July 1, 2014.
Unlike area-code changes decades ago that actually changed one’s existing phone number, 346 will be added to the mix of 713, 281 and 832. The area code will provide additional numbers for Harris, Fort Bend, Waller, Austin, Montgomery, San Jacinto, Liberty, Chambers, Galveston and Brazoria Counties. (See map right.) TheNorth American Number Planning Administration — the organization that issues area codes in the United States and Canada — predicts that Houston will run out of numbers by September 2014. The region’s last area code, 832, was added in 1999.
“Houstonians have had to dial 10-digit numbers for a long time, so we don’t expect it won’t take long for people to get acclimated,” says PUC spokesperson Terry Hadley, adding that local phone providers will launch an education campaign in August.”
The Houston area will receive area code 346 in July 2014.
For the rest of the article, check out the original article on Culture Map here: http://houston.culturemap.com/news/city_life/05-09-13-brace-yourself-houstons-getting-a-new-area-code-its-seinfeld-come-to-life/
