The Illinois Commerce Commission has announced a new area code is coming to southern Illinois. The new 730 area code will “overlay” the existing 618 area code to address the depletion of prefixes available for assignment within the region. The first prefix in the new area code will not be introduced until after July 7, 2023.
While 730 telephone numbers will begin to appear in the second half of 2023, there will continue to be an ongoing supply of available 618 telephone numbers in most areas.
The 618 area code covers all or parts of 37 counties including all but Effingham County in South Central Illinois. The 618 area code is one of the original, eighty-six area codes in the United States, assigned by Bell Laboratories in 1947. It has not undergone any substantive changes to its boundaries since then.
Telephone customers should know the following key facts about the 618/730 area code overlay:
- Telephone numbers, including current area code, will not change.
- The price of a call, coverage area, or other rates and services will not change due to the overlay.
- What is a local call now will remain a local call.
- Customers in the overlay region will continue to dial 10 digits for local calls within and between the overlay area codes, and 1+10 digits for long distance calls.
- Customers can still dial just three digits to reach 911 and 988, as well as 211, 311, 411, 511, 611, 711 or 811 if those are currently available in their community.
Customers should continue to identify their telephone number as a 10-digit number (3-digit area code + 7-digit telephone number), and include the area code when giving the number to friends, family, business associates and customers, etc.
For more information, please contact your local telephone service provider or visit the Illinois Commission website at https://www.icc.illinois.gov/programs/Area-Codes.
