762 area code to become more common in 706 areas in Georgia

AUGUSTA, Ga. (AP) -- The area code 762 is expected to become more common in several regions of the state that are currently covered by the 706 prefix.

Director of the North American Numbering Plan Administration, John Manning, told the Augusta Chronicle that combinations of phone numbers for the 706 area code ran out last week.

The area code covers Augusta, Athens, the Columbus area and a large portion of north Georgia. The 762 area code was introduced in 2006 to help meet the growing need for more landline and cellphone numbers in the areas.

Manning says use of the 762 prefix will become more common as the need for new telephone numbers continues growing in the regions that are covered by the 706 area code.

In addition, Manning says new phones issued in metro Atlanta will no longer come with the 404 and 678 area codes.

Instead, the national organization that assigns area codes will start using the 470 code for the region. No existing phone numbers will be changed.

Officials assigned the last prefix to the 404 area code on Oct. 11. The prefix is the three-digit sequence that comes after an area code. The 404 area code has been used in Atlanta for six decades.

Each area code can have about 8 million phone numbers.

Metro Atlanta now has four area codes: 470, 404, 678 and 770, which was created in 1995 for communities in the outer metro region.

Manning told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution that consistent population growth has driven the need for more area codes.

"It's not a Texas or a New York, but Georgia does have quite a bit of growth, primarily due to your Atlanta metropolitan area," Manning said.