Area Code and Numbering

Area Code and Number Conservation

The following resources on this site include Maine's efforts to conserve numbering resources in the 207 Area Code, recent numbering cases, and obligations for voice network service providers (service providers) doing business in Maine.   

The Maine Public Utilities Commission remains committed to ensuring that Maine residents and businesses have access to telephone numbering resources in the 207 Area Code.  Although only about 38% of telephone numbering resources are currently in use, the 207 Area Code could still run out of numbers by the 4th Quarter of 2033 according to the North American Numbering Plan Administrator (NANPA).  This is in part due to the way telephone numbers are currently distributed to service providers.  

The Commission continues to work closely with service providers receiving telephone number resources as well as NANPA to make sure that numbers are used in the most efficient manner possible to extend the life of the 207 Area Code as long as possible.

Maine’s efforts to extend its single area code also impacts the North American Numbering Plan (NANP).  The NANP contains all current and future area codes that may be used.  Currently, NANPA projects that the NANP could exhaust its numbering resources between 2047 and 2053.  This date could accelerate based on ongoing demand for numbering resources.  According to the Federal Communications Commission, in 1999, the North American Numbering Council (NANC) estimated the total societal cost of expanding the universe of numbering resources in the NANP would be $50-$150 billion (roughly $90-$270 billion in 2023 dollars). Expanding the NANP would require adding digits to telephone numbers, which would change the way telephone numbers are used.