Palm Beach County will soon get another area code, officials said.
The county, which has used the 561 area code for almost 25 years, will start using the new area code next summer. The Florida Public Service Commission cited a growing population and emerging technologies requiring new phone numbers in approving the plan on Tuesday, the Palm Beach Post reported.
People who already have 561 phone numbers will not be affected, officials said. New customers, or people getting additional phone lines, will receive the new area code. The code’s three digits have yet to be announced. The new area code will have the same geographic boundaries as the 561 area code.
Florida originally had just the 305 area code statewide. Now the state has 22 area codes.
Broward and Miami-Dade counties each already have two. The 786 exchange was added to Miami-Dade’s 305 area code in 1998. Broward County broke off from the 305 exchange and began using 954 in 1995, then added 754 in 2002.
Palm Beach County originally used the 305 area code, which started becoming overused in 1988. That’s when new phone numbers from Palm Beach County to Orlando began using the 407 exchange. Then, in 1997, the county was assigned the 561 area code, because of continued growth there and in the Orlando area.
A workshop is now planned for Dec. 21 to discuss a proposal that would add another area code in Miami-Dade and the Florida Keys, the Public Service Commission said. They recently added a 448 area code in Florida’s Panhandle, which is currently serviced by 850. And central Florida got the 689 area code in 2019.
(AP)
