Area codes 703 and 571
North American telephone area codes 703 and 571 are area codes which serve most telephone installations in northern Virginia, including the independent cities of Alexandria, Fairfax, Falls Church, Manassas, and Manassas Park, as well as Arlington, Fairfax counties, and parts of Fauquier, Loudoun, Prince William, and Stafford counties. 703, the main area code, was created as one of the original 86 North American area codes in October 1947, and originally served the entire Commonwealth. Area code 571 was created on March 1, 2000 as an overlay to 703.
The map to the right is clickable; click on an area code to go to the page for that code.
Dialing requirements
Local calls, regardless of the area code, are dialed as 10 digits, namely, area code, plus 7-digit number. Long-distance calls are dialed as 11 digits, namely, 1 + area code + the number. Because of the overlay, 7-digit dialing from telephones using either area code is not permitted.[1]
Service areas
571 and 703 serve the following cities and towns in Virginia: Alexandria, Annandale, Ashburn, Burke, Centreville, Chantilly, Dale City, Fairfax, Falls Church, Franconia, Great Falls, Groveton, Herndon, Lake Ridge, Leesburg, Lorton, Manassas, Manassas Park, McLean, Mount Vernon, North Springfield, Oakton, Occoquan, Reston, South Riding, Springfield, Sterling, Vienna, West Springfield, and Woodbridge, plus all or part of these counties: Arlington, Fairfax, Loudoun, Prince William and Stafford.
History
804 created
On June 24, 1973, the 703 code began its first split (which became mandatory on January 1, 1974).[2] 703 was restricted to the northern and western regions of Virginia—from Arlington in the north to the Tennessee and Kentucky border— while everything from Danville eastward was reassigned to the 804 area code.
Partial "overlay" with 202
From 1947 to 1991, it was possible for telephone users in the northern Virginia portion of 703 to dial any number in the Washington metropolitan area with only seven digits. This was possible because northern Virginia is part of the Washington LATA, which includes most of the Maryland side of the metro (in area code 301) and the District itself (in area code 202). Every number in the Maryland and Virginia portions of the metro area was given a "hidden" phone number consisting of the same number in the District's 202, essentially making 202 an overlay for the entire metro. This ended in 1991, since this arrangement meant no prefixes could be duplicated in the Washington metro area and exchanges on both sides of the Potomac River were running out of numbers.
540 assigned
On June 19, 1995, most of the western portion of the old 703 area code was split off into the new 540 area code, and 703 was restricted to northern Virginia.
703/571 overlay
The 1995 split was intended to be a long-term solution. However, within four years, 703 was close to exhaustion due to the proliferation of cell phones, fax machines, and pagers, as well as northern Virginia's explosive growth. The supply of available numbers was further limited since, as mentioned above, northern Virginia is part of the Washington LATA. To solve this problem, area code 571 was introduced on March 1, 2000, as an overlay for 703. Area code 571 serves most new telephone numbers; while it is primarily associated with mobile telephone lines, it is also used for new landline numbers, including the United States Patent and Trademark Office upon moving to Alexandria; and the Fairfax County Public Schools, which moved its headquarters to the Falls Church area in 2006.
Without the overlay, it would have been necessary to split 703 further.
Local service providers
Although former competitors Bell Atlantic (a former Baby Bell) and GTE had assigned geographical monopolies varying by region in Virginia, they merged in the late 1990s to form Verizon, now the dominant local telephone service provider throughout Virginia (including both of these area codes). Over 85% of all telephone numbers in both of these area codes are served by Verizon, a regulated monopoly.
Mobile phone service
However, mobile telephone service is provided with numbers assigned these area codes by various operators such as Sprint, AT&T, and T-Mobile, in addition to Verizon Wireless, Verizon's joint venture with Vodafone.
Cable competition
Competition in the local telephone service market within these area codes has been joined by cable television operators such as Cox Communications, Comcast, and Verizon FiOS, which provide local telephone service running over their own broadband fiber optic telecommunication networks (which also provide cable television and high-speed internet services).
See also
References
External links
- NANPA area code map of Virginia
- List of exchanges from AreaCodeDownload.com, 571 Area Code
- List of exchanges from AreaCodeDownload.com, 703 Area Code
- 703 Area Code | Counties | Cities
| North: 301/240 | ||
| West: 540 | area code 703/571 | East: 301/240, 202 |
| South: 540 | ||
| District of Columbia area codes: 202/771 | ||
| Maryland area codes: 301/240/227, 410/443/667 | ||