The Kentucky Public Service Commission will hold a meeting in Hopkinsville this week to explain the need for a new area code for the western half of the state. Area code 270 is projected to run out of available numbers by early 2014. There are two plans under consideration.
One option is an overlay that would create a second area code within the current 270 territory. That would allow wireless and landline customers to keep their current 270 number, but they would have to dial ten digits for local calls.
The second option is a split, which would assign area code 364 to a portion of the current 270 territory. In that case, customers would still use seven-digit dialing for local calls, but about half of the customers would have to change their numbers. The public can offer input this Wednesday in Hopkinsville. The meeting begins at 6pm at Hopkinsville Community College.
“We hope that both residential and business phone customers will evaluate how these options might affect them,” PSC Chairman David Armstrong said. “We also hope they take the time to share their views with the PSC.”
Other meetings are scheduled this month in Paducah, Henderson, Owensboro, Bowling Green, and Elizabethtown.
The PSC will make a decision by the end of this year to allow time for transitioning. A new area code is expected to be in place by the end of 2013.
