Note: This might count as trivia, but it could be the basis of a Lecturer’s Program!
The announcement by the Maine Public Utilities Commission (PUC) in mid-October that Maine would be able to retain its only area code may be welcome news to many who think of “207” as more than just Maine’s area code. The PUC said the North American Numbering Plan Administrator extended the time before a new area code would be needed in Maine from 2029 to 2032.
The reason some may feel 207 is more than just an area code may reside in the fact that the entire State of Maine was one of the original 86 Numbering Plan Areas when AT&T implemented the continent-wide area code system in 1947. Through the former Bell System, a network of regional telecommunications operators, 77 area codes were assigned across the U.S. that year for automated toll calling while the Canadian provinces were given nine.
Maine was one of 40 states and provinces to have a single area code when the original plan was established. Today, Maine is one of only 11 that have been able to hold onto that distinction, joining Alaska, Delaware, Hawaii, Montana, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Vermont and Wyoming. Idaho, which comes right after Maine with its 208 area code, was the last to lose that status when they added, or “overlaid,” area code 986 in 2017.
With its single area code, Maine residents have been able to keep using the standard seven-digit format. In states where additional area codes have been added, callers are required to use all 10 digits.
The fact that 207 has remained Maine’s only area code for 76 years is perhaps why it has become ubiquitous with the state. From appearing on t-shirts and hats to “207 Recipes,” the “Best of the 207” and even its own newscast brand, it has become synonymous with Maine’s identity and heritage.
That is, except for the small village of Estcourt Station in Big Twenty Township in Aroostook County, which is also the northernmost community in the U.S. east of the Great Lakes. They get their telephone service from Canada and are included in Quebec’s 418 area code.
It is estimated that North America will run out of area codes by 2051.