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Area codes 205 and 659 are telephone area codes in the North American Numbering Plan (NANP) for the western and central parts of the U.S. State of Alabama, including the cities of Birmingham and Tuscaloosa.
Area code 205 was assigned to the original numbering plan area for Alabama, created in 1947 when the NANP was placed in operation by AT&T. It encompassed the entire state. By the 1990s, the state's growth and the proliferation of cell phones and pagers threatened exhaustion of the numbering pool. In 1995, the area was divided and area code 334 was created in relief to serve the area from Montgomery southward. The numbering plan area was reduced in size in 1998, when the northern and eastern portions were assigned area code 256.[1]
In October 2019, numbering plan area 205 was converted to an overlay plan, adding area code 659 to the same region. This change mandated ten-digit dialing for all calls.[2][3]
Service area
Counties:
- Bibb (most; part of Bibb County is in area code 334)
- Blount
- Chilton (most; part of Chilton County is in area code 334)
- Choctaw
- Etowah (part; most of Etowah County is in area code 256/area code 938)
- Fayette
- Franklin (part; most of Franklin County is in area code 256/area code 938)
- Greene
- Hale
- Jefferson
- Lamar
- Marion
- Perry
- St. Clair
- Shelby
- Sumter
- Tuscaloosa
- Walker
- Winston
Cities and towns:
- Alabaster
- Birmingham
- Bessemer
- Brent
- Brilliant
- Butler
- Calera
- Carbon Hill
- Centreville
- Chelsea
- Clanton
- Columbiana
- Double Springs
- Eutaw
- Fairfield
- Fayette
- Fultondale
- Gardendale
- Gilbertown
- Greensboro
- Guin
- Haleyville
- Hamilton
- Helena
- Homewood
- Hoover
- Hueytown
- Irondale
- Jasper
- Jemison
- Leeds
- Lisman
- Livingston
- Montevallo
- Moundville
- Mountain Brook
- Needham
- Northport
- Oneonta
- Pelham
- Pell City
- Pennington
- Pleasant Grove
- Silas
- Sumiton
- Toxey
- Trussville
- Tuscaloosa
- Vestavia Hills
- Vincent
- Warrior
- Winfield
See also
- List of Alabama area codes
- List of NANP area codes
- North American Numbering Plan
References
- ^ Lowry, Bob (March 4, 2009). "Flex your fingers for 10-digit dialing in 2010". The Huntsville Times.
- ^ Staff reports (August 21, 2018). "Additional area code coming for western central Alabama". Bizjournals.com.
- ^ "Relief plan" (PDF). www.nationalnanpa.com. October 8, 2018.
External links
| North: 256/938 | ||
| West: 601/769, 662 | area codes 205 and 659 | East: 256/938 |
| South: 251, 334 | ||
| Mississippi area codes: 228, 601/769, 662 | ||