Now available in dark mode!
This site contains information about the North American Numbering Plan, the telephone numbering scheme that serves the United States, Canada, and several other countries and territories in the region. The NANP divides the participating countries into area codes, each of which is a three-digit number. Within each area code, a telephone number is always 7 digits, except for special codes like the 911 emergency number. In the late 1990s, the NANP added new area codes at a rate unprecedented in its 50-year history, with demand fueled primarily by the outdated system of allocating blocks of numbers to telephone companies. More efficient allocation methods, coupled with consolidation in the telecommunications industry, have slowed the flood of new area codes to barely a trickle, from 45 in 1997 to only 3 in 2007. Notably, the introduction of new area codes has shifted decisively from traditional area code splits to overlays. The last area code split in the United States was in 2007, and Canada hasn’t had one since 1999! This site contains information about the original area codes from 1947, their evolution to the current state, and future developments, including area code splits and area code overlays.
The site underwent a major overhaul in early 2021. Most of the changes are “under the hood” (full HTML5 compliance and much greater use of Unicode instead of ASCII escapes), but several of the graphics have been updated, particularly with an eye to making them more friendly to people with Color Vision Deficiency (“color blindness”), and the logo has been refreshed. In October 2022, the site made another significant change: most pages now support “dark mode”: light-colored text against a dark background. There are still some graphics that need to be converted, and a few other tweaks here and there, but most of the changes are complete; a few laggards will be brought into the 21st century in the coming months. Various pages are being made more screen-reader-friendly, on an ongoing basis.
The Unicode came in particularly handy for the world.html and world-rtl.html pages, which now contain text in over 200 languages in three dozen character sets. I’m phasing in SVG graphics to replace many of the older PNG/GIF graphics, providing dramatically better quality at arbitrary scales. I continue to closely monitor US and Canadian regulators’ websites for any updates, and keep my ear to the ground for any credible rumors from other sources. I also receive regular updates from the I T U on international numbering. I hope you find the information here useful for all your telephony needs.
The correct address of this page is www.LincMad.com
LincMad.com has never sent a single piece of unsolicited e-mail. Join the fight against “spam” (Unsolicited Commercial E-mail). See bad mail: spam, viruses, and virus hoaxes for more information
Linc Mad dot com utilizes servers located in California. The sending of any unsolicited email advertising messages to this domain will result in the imposition of civil liability against you in accordance with California Business and Professions Code, Section 1 7 5 3 8.4 5, even if you are outside California. Please note that this prohibition includes, without limitation, offers to increase web traffic, perform consulting services, or sell any product or service.
In addition, any entity that identifies itself falsely as LincMad.com may be subject to criminal liability under Title 18, United States Code, Section 1037 also known as the Can, spam, act of 2003.
The LincMad.com site has a privacy policy.