The Kentucky Public Service Commission last week again extended the time for residents of far western Kentucky to continue using area code 270, basing the decision on new data from the agency that distributes telephone numbers. (Click here for audio statement.)
The optional use of area code 364 will now take effect on Jan. 1, 2012, 21 months later than the previous implementation date of April 1 of next year.
“A number of factors have combined to greatly reduce the demand for new phone numbers,” PSC Chairman David Armstrong said. “If this trend continues, it is quite possible that a new area code in western Kentucky will be postponed for a considerable time.”
Area code 364 is to cover the western portion of the current area code 270, which includes the cities of Henderson, Hopkinsville, Madisonville and Paducah.
The PSC has postponed the use of area code 364 on three previous occasions, largely due to a Federal Communications Commission decision that changed the assignment of telephone numbers in the present area code 270. That change significantly increased the availability of new numbers in the existing area code.
At the same time, a weakened economy and a reduced usage of telephone numbers dedicated for use by computer and fax modems has slowed the demand for new numbers.
“The PSC realizes that repeatedly moving the start date for area code 364 creates a degree of uncertainty,’ Armstrong said. “But that is preferable to imposing the inconvenience and expense of an area code switch before it is needed.”
On May 31, 2007, the PSC decided to accommodate the rising demand for new telephone numbers in western Kentucky by splitting area code 270, with the eastern portion retaining the current area code. Cities remaining in area code 270 include Bowling Green, Columbia, Glasgow, Elizabethtown and Owensboro.
About two million numbers are now available in area code 270.
The current area code 270 was established in 1999. In 2006, NANPA had projected area code 270 would run out of numbers by late last year.
NANPA now projects that area code 270 will reach number exhaustion by the second quarter of 2012.
