HARRISBURG - One of the more iconic things about our area, the 717 area code, may not be alone for much longer.
The Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission has been told all the phone numbers in the 717 area code could be exhausted by summer 2018, and is taking public comment for the next 45 days on what the state should do when this area needs another area code.
“This is an opportunity now for the PUC to take a look at what options are available,” Nils Hagen-Frederiksen, with the state PUC, said.
They have two options.
“One is an overlay, which would be a new area code that would cover the same territory that 717 does,” Hagen-Frederiksen said. “The other would be a potential split to the territory.”
The state’s telecommunications industry has recommended an overlay, but the PUC has not decided on which option it would pursue, Hagen-Frederiksen said.
An overlay would allow all current users to keep their area code, while those receiving new phone numbers would use the new area code. However, all phone users in the area code would be required to dial ten digits, even if your number and the number you call have the same area code.
In the Keystone State, the last time an area code was split in two was in 1998, when the northeastern part of the state split from the 717 and adopted the 570 area code. Since then, anytime the state needed new area codes, the PUC has approved overlays.
But on the streets of the state capital and all over central Pennsylvania, the 717 area code is a point of pride.
“I actually do, believe it or not, I'm not like the type of person who would be really bold and say yeah, 717, but I admit, if I see 717, the immediate thing that comes to mind is Harrisburg,” Michael Jensen, of Harrisburg, said.
Some say they don't want a change.
“I would be confused because then I wouldn't know like if I need to call somebody else or the numbers coming in, stuff like that,” Dayshawn Coles-Lackey, of Harrisburg, said.
But others we talked to say a change might be good for everyone.
“Maybe that whole little phone number thing will in some very minor aspect, influence people to say 'You know what, here's a change, let's roll with it,'” Jensen said. “And hopefully, that action inspires them to go along with other changes that are genuinely good with people in the community and in the world.”
Public hearings will be held in the coming weeks. Anyone interested in submitting written feedback to the PUC during the 45-day public comment period can submit it to the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission, Attn: Secretary, P.O. Box 3265, Harrisburg, PA 17105-3265.