Area codes 704 and 980 cover Charlotte and all or part of 12 surrounding counties in south-central North Carolina. Other major cities in the service area are Gastonia, Kannapolis, Concord, Mooresville, Salisbury, Statesville, and Shelby. The South Carolina side of the Charlotte metropolitan area is part of area code 803.
The main area code, 704, is one of the original 86 Numbering Plan Areas assigned in 1947. At that time it covered the entire state of North Carolina. In 1954, Winston-Salem and points east were split off to create area code 919, leaving 704 to cover the western third of the state from Charlotte to the Blue Ridge Mountains.
This configuration remained in place for the next 44 years. Despite explosive growth in Charlotte, the state's largest city, the western third of the state was not as densely populated as the eastern two-thirds, which went from one area code to four during the decade. By the mid-1990s, however, the proliferation of cell phones and pagers made a split inevitable. In 1998, most of the western portion of the old 704 territory, including the Foothills and Blue Ridge, were split off to create area code 828, leaving 704 to cover the Charlotte area.
The creation of 828 was intended as a long-term solution. Within two years, however, 704 was close to exhaustion once again due to Charlotte's continued growth, as well as the proliferation of cell phones and pagers. The supply of available numbers was further limited because the Charlotte LATA spills into York and Lancaster counties in South Carolina, meaning several numbers in South Carolina's 803 weren't available for use. For this reason, 980 was created as the state's first overlay. Ten-digit dialing became mandatory on March 1, 2001; it is not known whether this was implemented as a flash-cut or as permissive dialing that allowed seven-digit calls for a time before that time.
Video Area codes 704 and 980
Counties served
- Alexander (sliver in southeast is in 704/980, most of county is in 828)
- Anson
- Cabarrus
- Catawba (slivers in southeast and northeast are in 704/980, most of county is in 828)
- Cleveland (except sliver in southwest which is in 828)
- Gaston
- Iredell
- Lincoln
- Mecklenburg
- Rowan
- Stanly
- Union
Maps Area codes 704 and 980
Cities and towns
See also
- List of North Carolina area codes
- List of NANP area codes
External links
- NANPA Area Code Map of North Carolina
- List of exchanges from AreaCodeDownload.com, 704 Area Code
- List of exchanges from AreaCodeDownload.com, 980 Area Code
Source of article : Wikipedia
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