The MPSC plans to hold a hearing in March in Detroit to take public comment on a proposal to add the new area code.
The 313 area code covers Detroit, Hamtramck, Highland Park, Allen Park, Dearborn, Dearborn Heights, Ecorse, the Grosse Pointes, Inkster, Lincoln Park, Redford Township, River Rouge, and Taylor.
The proposal calls for applying 679 over the same geographic territory as 313. It would apply to new numbers only, and would not require people with existing 313 area codes to change their phone numbers.
Calls between 313 and 679 numbers would be billed as local calls, but the change could require some devices to be reprogrammed.
The proposal dates back to 2000, but the MPSC says the effort was delayed. Those who can’t make the public meeting can also submit written comments by 5 p.m. on Monday, March 20, 2023 to Executive Secretary, Michigan Public Service Commission, P.O. Box 30221, Lansing, MI 48909, or by email to [email protected]. All comments will be made part of the public case file and should reference Case No. U-21337.
The Michigan Telecommunications Act grants the MPSC the authority to approve or reject area code changes in Michigan. A final order is expected by May 31, 2023.
679 doesn’t quite have the same ring to it as 313, but we’re sure Eminem could still figure out something to rhyme it with. If you want to show your city pride with a 313 area code, you better lock that down fast. The Detroit area is projected to run out of unassigned phone numbers with the 313 area code by 2025.
That’s according to the Michigan Public Service Commission, which announced Thursday that it’s looking into adding a new 679 area code.
According to the MPSC, Detroit's iconic area code of 313 is running out. Specifically the city is running out of unassigned telephone numbers and is projected to hit its ceiling in 2025.
As a result, the commission plans to hold a public hearing in Detroit in March as it looks to add a new area code covering the city as well as nearby suburbs.
The public is invited to comment on the plans during a March 9 hearing at 1:30 p.m. The meeting will happen at Wayne County Community College District's downtown campus in the Frank Hayden Community Room.
Despite the appearance of infinite combinations of phone numbers, there is actually a limited selection of available numbers that can be handed out to residents.
Detroit is nearing its limit on available phone numbers that utilize the 313 area code.
While some numbers are reassigned after their no longer in use by their previous owners, the number of numbers that haven't been used is dwindling.
It's projected to be exhausted in the third quarter of 2025. The solution is adding a new area code that "will cover the same geographic territory of the 313 area code," the MPSC said.
Instead of dividing up the city into new boundaries that will designate the new area code, it will instead just overlay with the 313 code. Current 313 numbers will remain in place while new phone customers in the same territory will be assigned numbers that begin with 679.
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