943 area code arriving in March for Atlanta-area phones
ATLANTA - Metro Atlanta is getting its fifth area code beginning March 15, with phone companies beginning to issue numbers that begin with 943.
That area code will join 404, 770, 678 and 470 across a broad swath of northern Georgia stretching from Gainesville to Cedartown to Griffin to Winder.
The remainder of Georgia has five other area codes.
The Georgia Public Service Commission approved the additional area code in 2020, after administrators warned that metro Atlanta was running out of numbers in the four existing area codes. Numbers had been projected to run out in the middle of 2023, but the timeline was moved up as demand for phone numbers continued. Each area code can provide about 7.9 million phone numbers, but many people now have more than one number.
Customers will not change their number or existing area code and customers in the Atlanta region will continue to dial 10 digits with all numbers. The local calling area will not change.
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Businesses may need to check to make sure private branch exchanges and other devices recognize the new area code.
Area codes have been proliferating in metro Atlanta since 1995, when 770 was assigned to suburban residents while close-in city residents kept the original 404 code. After that, additional codes have been overlaid across the entire area instead of dividing the calling zone, with 678 making its debut in 1998 and 470 arriving in 2010. Officials predict it will be another 10 years before Atlanta needs a sixth area code after 943 begins.