What is a Local Area Code?

A local area code is the numerical prefix at the beginning of a landline phone number that identifies a specific geographic region. It is a fundamental part of a country's telephone numbering plan, designed to organize phone numbers and significantly increase the total number of unique numbers available.

Think of it like a postal code for the phone system. It allows the network to efficiently route calls to the correct city or region without making individual phone numbers excessively long.

As the demand for phone numbers grew, it became necessary to divide large territories into smaller, more manageable areas, each with its own unique code. In regions with very high population densities, a single city might eventually be assigned multiple area codes to meet the demand.

A well-known example is London in the UK:

• Originally, the entire city was covered by a single code.
• As the city grew, the code was split to differentiate between inner and outer London.
• Eventually, these were consolidated back into the single 020 area code, but with the next digit (3, 4, 7, or 8) acting as a further subdivision to create millions of new number combinations (e.g., 020 7xxx xxxx or 020 8xxx xxxx).

This process of adding or splitting area codes is common in metropolitan areas around the world to ensure a continuous supply of new phone numbers for residents and businesses.