573 area code reaching 'exhaustion' stage

In 1996, area code 573 — including residents in Cape Girardeau and all of Southeast Missouri — was put into service when area code 314 began to run out of available telephone numbers because of cellular phones, fax machines, computer modems and pagers.

No plan lasts forever and the state Public Service Commission, in a news release late last month, said 573 will also reach "exhaustion" by the first quarter of 2025.

PSC officials have directed North American Numbering Plan Administrator (NANPA) "to proceed with an overlay plan to alleviate the exhaustion of available telephone numbers in area code 573."

Options

PSC had two options to deal with what it terms "telephone number relief."

• Overlay. This plan allows customers to keep their seven-digit phone numbers within a new area code but will require ten-digit dialing on local calls.
• Geographic split. This plan preserves seven-digit dialing by dividing an area code into two regions. However, some customers would have to change their phone numbers.

"As suggested by staff, the Commission finds that the overlay of a new area code within the existing 573 geographic area is more efficient and will be less disruptive to customers than would be a geographic split of that area," according to an April 22 PSC release.

No information has been provided thus far about identifying the numbers in a future new area code.

PSC said NANPA is required by law to begin telephone number relief 36 months in advance of number exhaustion.

St. Louis region

Beginning Aug. 12, customers in area code 314 may be assigned a number in new area code 557 when they request new service or add an additional line.

PSC said the changes will ensure a continuing supply of new telephone numbers are available.