Editing Area codes 314 and 557

{{Short description|Telephone area code for St. Louis, Missouri}}
[[File:NANPA Missouri Area Codes 2022.gif|360px|thumb|]]

'''Area codes 314 and 557''' are telephone [[area code]]s in the [[North American Numbering Plan]] (NANP) in the [[U.S. state]] of [[Missouri]], serving the city of [[St. Louis]] and most of its inner-ring suburbs in neighboring [[St. Louis County, Missouri|St. Louis County]]. The numbering plan area is bordered to the west by [[area code 636]], which serves St. Louis' outer suburbs to the west, south, and north. Across the [[Mississippi River]] to the east, 314 is adjacent to [[area code 618]], which serves [[southern Illinois]] and most of [[Metro East]]. Area code 557 was added to the 314 numbering plan area on August 12, 2022, to form an [[overlay complex|overlay numbering plan]].<ref>{{Cite web|date=2022-02-08|title=A New 557 Area code is Coming to the 314 Area Code Region
|url=https://psc.mo.gov/Telecommunications/A_New_557_Area_Code_is_Coming_to_the_314_Area_Code_Region--pr-22-124|access-date=2022-07-15|website=Missouri Public Service Commission|language=en-US}}</ref>

==History==
When the [[American Telephone and Telegraph Company]] (AT&T) created a universal North American [[telephone numbering plan]] for [[Operator Toll Dialing]] in 1947, and assigned the [[original North American area codes]] to numbering plan areas (NPAs), Missouri was divided into two NPAs, which received the area codes 314 and [[area code 816|816]]. Area code 314 identified the eastern part of the state, from the northeast corner of the state at the Illinois border along a southwestern line near [[Columbia, Missouri|Columbia]] and [[Jefferson City]] to the center of the state, and continuing southeast into the east side of the [[West Plains, Missouri|West Plains]] area to the Arkansas state line. The largest city of the area code was [[St. Louis]] on the Mississippi river in the east.

By 1995, the telephone subscriber base had experienced substantial growth, threatening the exhaustion of the numbering pool.<ref>{{cite web
|url=https://www.nationalnanpa.com/pdf/old_pl/IL%2095-08-015.pdf
|title=NANP-Split of 314 (Missouri) Numbering Plan Area (NPA)
|work=Bellcore Letter IL-95708-015
|date=1995-08-31
|access-date=2022-12-07
}}</ref> Relief planning entailed the division of the numbering plan area to create a new area code, 573, for most areas outside of the St. Louis metropolitan area, which would retain area code 314. The area code split became effective at day end of January 7, 1996, with a permissive dialing period commencing until July 7, 1996, during which the new numbering plan area could be dialed with both area codes.

Although area code splits were intended as long-term solutions, within only two years, 314 was close to exhaustion once again due to the proliferation of cell phones, fax machines and pagers in St. Louis. As a result, 314 was reduced to include only the exchanges of Chestnut, Jefferson, Prospect, Flanders, Forest, Mission, Melrose, Webster Groves,
Parkview, Evergreen, Riverview, Ferguson, Overland, Ladue, Kirkwood, Sappington, Mehlville,
Oakville, Creve Coeur, Bridgeton, Hazelwood, Florissant, and Spanish Lake in the core of the St. Louis area.<ref>{{cite web
|url=https://www.nationalnanpa.com/pdf/pl-nanp-165.pdf
|title=Geographic Split of 314 (Missouri) Numbering Plan Area (NPA)
|publisher=Lockheed Martin (NANPA)
|date=1999-02-23
|access-date=2022-12-07
}}</ref> All other exchanges were reassigned to the new area code 636, effective May 22, 1999, with the permissive dialing period ending on February 26, 2000.

On October 24, 2000, the [[Missouri Public Service Commission]] announced plans to add a second area code for the 314 numbering plan area, creating an [[Overlay plan|overlay]], but postponed the implementation date (May 5, 2002) indefinitely on September 25, 2001, when the commission determined no immediate need for additional central office prefixes.<ref>{{cite web
|url=https://www.nationalnanpa.com/pdf/pl-nanp-303v1.pdf
|title=Planning Letter 303: Suspension of the 314 NPA Relief (Missouri)
|publisher=NANPA
|date=2001-10-05
|access-date=2022-12-07
}}</ref> Conservation measures, such as [[number pooling]], mitigated the immediate need for relief.<ref>{{cite web |title=Area Code Information: Missouri |url=https://www.att.com/gen/general?pid=1512 |website=[[AT&T]] |access-date=December 7, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071026230202/http://www.att.com/gen/general?pid=1512 |archive-date=2007-10-26 |url-status=dead}}</ref> More than twenty years after that announcement, area code 557 was overlaid on August 12, 2022, as the available numbers in 314 neared exhaustion.<ref>{{cite web
|url=https://nationalnanpa.com/pdf/PL_567.pdf
|title=NPA 557 and 314 All-Services Overlay (Missouri)
|publisher=NANPA
|date=2021-10-28
}}</ref>

Prior to October 2021, area code 314 had telephone numbers assigned for the [[central office code]] 988. In 2020, ''988'' was designated nationwide as a dialing code for the [[National Suicide Prevention Lifeline]], which created a conflict for exchanges that permit [[seven-digit dialing]]. This area code was therefore scheduled to transition to [[ten-digit dialing]] by October 24, 2021.<ref name="pl556">{{cite web|url=https://nationalnanpa.com/pdf/PL_556.pdf|date=January 8, 2021|publisher=North American Numbering Plan Administrator |title=Transition to 10-digit dialing (for 988 as 3-digit access to National Suicide Prevention Hotline)|access-date=March 9, 2021}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|date=2021-03-05|title=Many will need to dial all 10 digits before calling soon|url=https://fox2now.com/news/many-will-need-to-dial-all-10-digits-before-calling-soon/|access-date=2021-03-08|website=FOX 2|language=en-US}}</ref>

==See also==
*[[List of Missouri area codes]]
*[[List of North American Numbering Plan area codes]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
{{Area_code_footer|Map=MO}}

{{clear}}
{{Area code box|State=MO
| This=314/557 
| N= [[area code 636|636]]
| S= [[area codes 573 and 235|573/235]]
| E= [[area codes 618 and 730|618/730]]
| W= [[area code 636|636]]
|  S1=IL
}}

{{Coord|38.62|-90.22|format=dms|display=title|type:adm3rd_region:US-MO}}

[[Category:Area codes in the United States|314]]
[[Category:St. Louis]]
[[Category:St. Louis County, Missouri]]
[[Category:Area codes in Missouri|314]]
[[Category:Telecommunications-related introductions in 1947]]