RICHMOND, Va. (AP) - Consumers in southwest Virginia and the Shenandoah Valley may soon receive a new area code when they are assigned new phone numbers.
The State Corporation Commission said Wednesday a new 826 area code will be created and overlap with the existing 540 area code.
The overlapping area codes allow people with existing 540 numbers to keep them. But new numbers issued in that territory will carry the 826 code, and the overlap will require customers to dial 10 digits instead of seven.
The commission said the 540 area code will run out of numbers by 2022.
All usable 540 numbers will be exhausted before 826 numbers are issued. The commission approved a 13-month transition period to orient customers to the switch to 10-digit dialing.
The 540 area code was created in 1995 and includes the Winchester and Fredericksburg areas as well as southwest Virginia and the Shenandoah Valley.
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