AUGUSTA, Maine — Maine's 207 area code has more life.
While the area code had previously been predicted to expire by the fourth quarter of 2025, the Maine Public Utilities Commission said in a release Thursday that ongoing efforts to preserve it have resulted in an extension of about 15 months.
This means the 207 area code is now predicted to be exhausted by the first quarter of 2027.
“These additional months are the direct result of multiple actions taken by dedicated Commission staff who have been persistent in efforts to preserve Maine’s single area code,” MPUC Chair Philip L. Bartlett II said in Thursday's release. “That work includes scrutinizing unnecessary requests for numbering resources.”
Maine is one of only 11 states with a single area code.
Bartlett told NEWS CENTER Maine in 2020 that the state would need to add a new area code if action is not taken to preserve 207, but there was no plan for how the new code would be decided. Bartlett said splitting up the area code by geography wouldn't work in today's modern society. He also said there wasn't a plan or idea of what the new area code could be.
The MPUC said Thursday that commission staff would continue to pursue options for further extending Maine’s single area code, which could not only significantly extend the life but also serve as a model for other states facing similar area code exhaustion circumstances.
Thursday's release also highlighted steps the MPUC has already taken, including working with federal phone number oversight organizations and service providers to return and limit blocks of unused numbers.
In July, the MPUC opened an investigation into T-Mobile's growth numbering resources and number forecasting practices, saying "the Commission has reason to question the Company’s forecasting process for numbering resources and the rate at which old numbers are returned to the system as part of the 'aging' process."
The investigation requires T-Mobile to provide MPUC with detailed information, including "an explanation of how the company forecasts growth in Maine, the utilization percentage of numbers used in the areas it serves, and an explanation of why the company is using a high number of special numbering categories that may unnecessarily increase the need for more numbers to be pulled from the 207 numbering pool," according to a July release from the commission.
Before T-Mobile, Verizon was also investigated by MPUC last year in order to help preserve the 207 area code.