MISSOULA — With the 406 area code covering the entire state of Montana, many businesses have adopted the numbers as their slogan. But regulations by the Federal Communications Commission have announced Montana will be getting more area codes in 2022.
The Missoulian reports that though the state was projected to run out of 406 phone numbers by 2019, the Montana Public Service Commission has stepped in to preserve the singe code until 2022.
The FCC announced that the PSC extended the switch by requiring phone service providers to enact “number pooling,” in which geographic areas are assigned blocks of numbers instead of phone carriers, keeping more phone numbers for populated areas.
Montana is one of 12 states with a single area code. The others are Alaska, Delaware, Hawaii, Idaho, Maine, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Vermont and Wyoming.