Northeast Florida gets a new area code

TALLAHASSEE — State regulators have approved the creation of an additional area code in Northeast Florida, as cell phones and other devices continue to gobble up existing numbers.

The Florida Public Service Commission backed a plan last week designed to provide relief to the 904 area code, which is projected to run out of numbers in 2024.

“Northeast Florida continues to grow at a resounding pace, a tribute to its thriving communities and beautiful beaches,” Public Service Commission Chairman Andrew Fay said in a prepared statement after the panel’s vote. “With popularity comes the need to meet the demand for new and additional phone lines. To meet that demand, we are approving a new area code that will replenish the supply of numbers to this area.”

The changes are expected to be carried out over 13 months, with the first six months needed to prepare telecommunications networks, according to a Public Service Commission staff analysis. The three digits of the new area code have not been announced.

The 904 area code has been used since 1965, when the 305 area code needed relief, and includes communities such as Jacksonville, St. Augustine, Fernandina Beach, Orange Park, Macclenny and Starke.

The commission on Feb. 1 approved an additional area code for Miami-Dade County and the Florida Keys because of the projected exhaustion of numbers in the 305 and 786 area codes. That new area code will be 645.