Area codes 541 and 458
North American area code 541 covers the majority of Oregon in terms of surface area, except the northwest part of the state. Its service area includes the cities of Eugene, Springfield, Corvallis, Albany, Medford, Bend, Ashland, The Dalles, and Pendleton, as well as the coastal region from Lincoln County to the California border. It began its split from area code 503 on November 5, 1995, and finished June 30, 1996. It is overlaid with area code 458, effective February 10, 2010.
History
Area code 503 was used for the entire state of Oregon until November 5, 1995, when area code 541 began service. On that date, 503 was cut back to the heavily populated northwest corner of the state–including Portland and Salem–while the rest of the state moved to 541.[1] This was intended as a long-term solution, as northwest Oregon has the great majority of Oregon's landlines and cell phones. However, by 2007, 541 was on the brink of exhaustion due to the proliferation of cell phones and pagers, particularly in Eugene, Corvallis and Medford. The supply of numbers was further limited because the 541 territory is split among four local access and transport areas. Most of the numbering plan area is part of the Portland LATA, while the southwest portion is the Eugene LATA. Malheur County is part of the Boise/southern Idaho LATA, while the northeast is part of the Spokane, Washington LATA.
As a solution, the Oregon Public Utility Commission approved a number overlay with area code 458 for the entire area,[2] resulting in mandatory 10-digit dialing for that area.[3] Oregon's other area code overlay (503/971) already had this requirement. Ten-digit dialing was phased in beginning in July 2009, becoming mandatory in January 2010.[4] The first exchange to be issued in the 458 area code was 205 in Eugene in August 2011.
See also
References
- ^ "Split of 503 (Oregon) Numbering Plan Area (NPA)" (PDF). North American Numbering Plan Administration. May 19, 1995. Retrieved May 25, 2012.
- ^ "Oregon gets new area code: 458". seattlepi.com. 2008-10-21. Retrieved 2008-10-22.
- ^ "Commission seeks comment on new 541 area code options". KTVZ.com. 2008-06-15. Archived from the original on 2017-02-11. Retrieved 2008-06-15.
- ^ Rogoway, Mike (July 9, 2009). "New area code phases in, beginning Sunday, outside Portland area". The Oregonian. Retrieved 8 April 2010.
External links
| North: 503/971, 509 | ||
| West: Pacific Ocean | area codes 541/458 | East: 208/986 |
| South: 530, 707, 775 | ||
| California area codes: 209, 213/323, 279/916, 310/424, 341/510, 408/669, 415/628, 442/760, 530, 559, 562, 619/858, 626, 650, 657/714, 661, 707, 747/818, 805/820, 831, 840/909, 925, 949, 951 | ||
| Idaho area codes: 208/986 | ||
| Nevada area codes: 702/725, 775 | ||
| Washington area codes: 206, 253, 360, 425, 509, 564 | ||