Editing Area codes 508 and 774

{{short description|Area codes for south-central and most of southeastern Massachusetts}}
[[File:Ma towns area code 508 774.png|250px|thumb|Highlighted area of the numbering plan area overlay of 508 and 774]]
[[File:MA Area Codes Map.svg|250px|thumb|Map of the Massachusetts area codes since May 2001]]
[[Image:Massachusetts Area Code Map 88-97.png|250px|thumb|Map of area code 508 from its inception in July 1988 until it was split in September 1997]]
[[Image:Massachusetts Area Code Map 47-88.png|250px|thumb|Map of the original two area codes of Massachusetts]]

'''Area codes 508 and 774''' are telephone [[area code]]s in the [[North American Numbering Plan]] (NANP) for the [[U.S. state]] of [[Massachusetts]]. The numbering plan area comprises south-central and most of southeastern Massachusetts ([[Local access and transport area|LATA]] 128). It includes [[Worcester, Massachusetts|Worcester]], Outer south and southwest [[Greater Boston]] (such as the [[MetroWest]] region), as well as [[Fall River, Massachusetts|Fall River]], [[New Bedford, Massachusetts|New Bedford]], [[Cape Cod]], [[Martha's Vineyard]], and [[Nantucket]].

==History==
Massachusetts was originally divided into two numbering plan areas, when AT&T published the configuration of the first nationwide [[telephone numbering plan]] for [[Operator Toll Dialing]] in 1947. [[Area code 617]] was assigned to the eastern two-thirds of Massachusetts from roughly the western end of [[Worcester County, MA|Worcester County]] to [[Boston]], [[The Cape and Islands]], and the [[South Coast (Massachusetts)|South Coast]], while the western part received [[area code 413]].

Area code 508 was activated for service on July 16, 1988, in an [[area code split]] of 617,<ref name=NANPA>{{cite web
|url=https://www.nationalnanpa.com/pdf/old_pl/IL-87-07-003.pdf
|title=Split of the 617 Numbering Plan Area (NPA)
|publisher=Bell Communications Research, NANPA
|date=1987-07-02
|access-date=2023-05-26
}}</ref> with a semicircle around Boston retaining 617 and the central offices in the northern, western, and southern parts of the area being reassigned to area code 508. Permissive dialing of 617 and 508 continued until January 1, 1989.

On September 1, 1997, numbering plan area 508 was split, whereby [[area code 978]] was assigned to the northern part of the service area.

Area code 774 was added to the 508 numbering plan area on May 2, 2001, forming an [[overlay complex]] and making [[ten-digit dialing]] mandatory for all calls.

Some mobile telephone numbers assigned in the 1990s in communities in the former northern half of 508 (now the 978 area code) kept the area code after the split.{{cn|date=April 2020}}

As of 2018, NPA 508/774 is projected to be exhausted by 2045.<ref>[https://www.nationalnanpa.com/reports/2018-2_NPA_Exhaust_Projections_Final.pdf 2018 October NANPA Exhaust Projections]</ref>

==Service area==
The numbering plan area of area codes 508 and 774 includes the southern parts of the regions of [[Worcester County, Massachusetts|Worcester County]] and [[MetroWest]], as well as [[Cape Cod]], [[Martha's Vineyard]], [[Nantucket, Massachusetts|Nantucket]], and the [[South Coast (Massachusetts)|South Coast]].

The major towns and cities are [[Attleboro, Massachusetts|Attleboro]], [[Barnstable, Massachusetts|Barnstable]], [[Bridgewater, Massachusetts|Bridgewater]], [[Brockton, Massachusetts|Brockton]], [[Dartmouth, Massachusetts|Dartmouth]], [[Fall River, Massachusetts|Fall River]], [[Framingham, Massachusetts|Framingham]], [[Franklin, Massachusetts|Franklin]], [[New Bedford, Massachusetts|New Bedford]], [[Plymouth, Massachusetts|Plymouth]], [[Taunton, Massachusetts|Taunton]], and [[Worcester, Massachusetts|Worcester]].

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

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* [https://www.mass.gov/doc/massachusetts-area-code-map Massachusetts Area Code Map], Mass. Department of Telecommunications and Cable

{{NANPA area code map|Map=MA}}

{{Area code box|State=MA
| This=508/774
| N=[[area codes 978 and 351|978/351]]
| S=[[area code 860|860]], [[area code 401|401]]
| E=[[area codes 781 and 339|781/339]], [[Atlantic Ocean]]
| W=[[area code 413|413]]
| S1=CT|S2=RI
}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Area Codes 508 And 774}}
[[Category:Area codes in the United States|508]]
[[Category:Area codes in Massachusetts|508]]