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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Western Washington To Get Two New Area Codes

Associated Press

Western Washington phone users will get two new area codes later this month, which means 10-digit dialing for some local calls.

The new area codes go into effect on April 27, according to a joint news release issued Monday from U S West, GTE, PTI, AirTouch and AT&T. Mandatory use of the new codes will begin on Nov. 16.

The new area codes come as a result of a growing demand for telephone numbers in the Puget Sound region, according to the news release.

The extra demand comes from population growth and the extra demand of new numbers for fax machines, pagers, cellular telephones, computer modems and voice mail.

The breakdown of new area codes includes:

The 253 area code will cover Auburn, Federal Way, Gig Harbor, Kent, Puyallup and Tacoma.

The 425 area code will cover Bellevue, Bothell, Everett, Renton, North Bend and Snoqualmie.

The 206 area code will continue to include Seattle and Mercer Island.

The 360 area code will continue to cover the rest of Western Washington.

The latest move was expected. Phone companies in the region had said the 206 area code would run out of numbers by 1998. The two new codes will provide 10 years worth of additional capacity.

Local-call areas will remain unchanged, even when the calls are from one area code to another. In that event, though, callers will be required to dial the new area code. They will not have to dial the digit 1, though - just the code followed by the telephone number.

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