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Kentucky Lantern

A national organization overseeing the supply of phone numbers on behalf of phone carriers is asking a Kentucky regulator to establish a new area code in response to a dwindling supply of available 502 area code numbers covering Louisville, Frankfort and nearby counties.

The application filed with the Kentucky Public Service Commission (PSC) on Monday by the North American Numbering Plan Administrator (NANPA) states the supply of 502 area code phone number prefixes, the three digits following an area code in a phone number, is expected to be exhausted by the end of 2027. Florence Weber, a NANPA vice president, wrote in the application that representatives of the telecommunications industry consulted by NANPA decided adding a new area code would be the best way forward.

That would work by overlaying a new area code onto the geographic area serviced by the existing 502 area code. New phone numbers added in the area would have the new area code available while those with phone numbers with the previous 502 area code would be able to keep their numbers.

Heidi Wayman, a data manager for NANPA, told the Lantern the need for a new area code isn’t necessarily driven by population but associated with the multiple numbers each person may be using. 

“You may have devices as well with numbers, tablets, watches, etc. So you may have multiple phone numbers even assigned to you,” Wayman said. “We need available prefixes to assign out to the carriers.”

Weber wrote phone numbers with the new area code would be available once the supply of 502 area code numbers had been exhausted, and the supply of numbers with the new area code would last an estimated 30 years. The consensus of telecommunications providers, according to the application, is that  layering a new code onto the current 502 region would be easier to implement and reduce confusion compared to other options.

Industry representatives — which include AT&T, T-Mobile, Charter Communications, Verizon and Boost Mobile — also considered splitting the 502 area code geographic region into two distinct areas, one keeping 502 and another getting a new area code. Other options considered included eliminating the geographic boundaries for area codes in Kentucky including boundaries involving the 270 area code, 606 area code and 859 area code. 

This wouldn’t be the first time Kentucky received a new area code this century. Following a request from NANPA, the PSC in 2014 established the new area code 364 to be overlaid on the 270 area code to increase the supply of phone numbers in Western Kentucky. 

NANPA is requesting the PSC, which regulates utilities in the state, issue a decision on how to move forward by July 31, 2025. Once a decision has been issued, NANPA plans to roll out a 13-month timeline for establishing the new area code. NANPA is run by the New Jersey-based data management company SOMOS through a contract with the Federal Communications Commission.