Area codes 508 and 774 are telephone

area code A telephone numbering plan is a type of numbering scheme used in telecommunication to assign telephone numbers to subscriber telephones or other telephony endpoints. Telephone numbers are the addresses of participants in a telephone network, rea ...

s in the

North American Numbering Plan The North American Numbering Plan (NANP) is a telephone numbering plan for twenty-five regions in twenty countries, primarily in North America and the Caribbean. This group is historically known as World Zone 1 and has the international callin ...

(NANP) for the U.S. state of

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...

. The numbering plan area comprises south-central and most of southeastern Massachusetts ( LATA code 128). It includes

Worcester Worcester may refer to: Places United Kingdom * Worcester, England, a city and the county town of Worcestershire in England ** Worcester (UK Parliament constituency), an area represented by a Member of Parliament * Worcester Park, London, Englan ...

, Outer south and southwest Greater Boston (such as the MetroWest region), as well as

Fall River Fall River is a city in Bristol County, Massachusetts, United States. The City of Fall River's population was 94,000 at the 2020 United States Census, making it the tenth-largest city in the state. Located along the eastern shore of Mount H ...

New Bedford New Bedford (Massachusett: ) is a city in Bristol County, Massachusetts. It is located on the Acushnet River in what is known as the South Coast region. Up through the 17th century, the area was the territory of the Wampanoag Native American pe ...

Cape Cod Cape Cod is a peninsula extending into the Atlantic Ocean from the southeastern corner of mainland Massachusetts, in the northeastern United States. Its historic, maritime character and ample beaches attract heavy tourism during the summer mont ...

Martha's Vineyard Martha's Vineyard, often simply called the Vineyard, is an island in the Northeastern United States, located south of Cape Cod in Dukes County, Massachusetts, known for being a popular, affluent summer colony. Martha's Vineyard includes the s ...

, and

Nantucket Nantucket () is an island about south from Cape Cod. Together with the small islands of Tuckernuck and Muskeget, it constitutes the Town and County of Nantucket, a combined county/town government that is part of the U.S. state of Massachuse ...

History

Massachusetts was originally divided into two numbering plan areas, when AT&T initiated the development of the North American Numbering Plan in 1947.

Area code 617 Area codes 617 and 857 are the North American area codes serving Boston and several surrounding communities in Massachusetts—such as Brookline, Cambridge, Newton and Quincy ( LATA code 128). The main area code, 617, was one of the orig ...

was assigned to the eastern two-thirds of Massachusetts from roughly the western end of Worcester County to

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

The Cape and Islands Cape Cod is a peninsula extending into the Atlantic Ocean from the southeastern corner of mainland Massachusetts, in the northeastern United States. Its historic, maritime character and ample beaches attract heavy tourism during the summer mont ...

, and the

South Coast South Coast is a name often given to coastal areas to the south of a geographical region or major metropolitan area. Geographical Australia *South Coast (New South Wales), the coast of New South Wales, Australia, south of Sydney * South Coast (Q ...

, while the western part received area code 413. Area code 508 was created on July 16, 1988, in a split from 617, with a semicircle around Boston retaining 617 and the northern, western, and southern parts of the area becoming 508. Permissive dialing of 617 and 508 continued until January 1, 1989. On September 1, 1997, numbering plan area 508 was split, whereby

area code 978 Area code 978 was created as a split from area code 508 on September 1, 1997, and covers north central and most of northeastern Massachusetts ( LATA code 128). Use of 978 became mandatory on February 1, 1998. Prior to when this area was served b ...

was assigned to the northern part of the service area. Area code 774 was added to the 508 numbering plan area on May 2, 2001, forming an overlay complex and making ten-digit dialing mandatory for all local calls. Some mobile telephone numbers assigned in the 1990s in communities in the former northern half of 508 (now the 978 area code) kept the area code after it split. As of 2018, NPA 508/774 is projected to be exhausted by 2045.2018 October NANPA Exhaust Projections
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Service area

The numbering plan area of area codes 508 and 774 includes the southern parts of the regions of Worcester County and MetroWest, as well as

, and the

. The major towns and cities are

Attleboro Attleboro is a city in Bristol County, Massachusetts, United States. It was once known as "The Jewelry Capital of the World" for its many jewelry manufacturers. According to the 2020 census, Attleboro had a population of 46,461. Attleboro is ...

, Barnstable, Bridgewater, Brockton,

Dartmouth Dartmouth may refer to: Places * Dartmouth, Devon, England ** Dartmouth Harbour * Dartmouth, Massachusetts, United States * Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, Canada * Dartmouth, Victoria, Australia Institutions * Dartmouth College, Ivy League university i ...

, Framingham,

Franklin Franklin may refer to: People * Franklin (given name) * Franklin (surname) * Franklin (class), a member of a historical English social class Places Australia * Franklin, Tasmania, a township * Division of Franklin, federal electoral d ...

Plymouth Plymouth () is a port city and unitary authority in South West England. It is located on the south coast of Devon, approximately south-west of Exeter and south-west of London. It is bordered by Cornwall to the west and south-west. Plymouth ...

Taunton Taunton () is the county town of Somerset, England, with a 2011 population of 69,570. Its thousand-year history includes a 10th-century monastic foundation, Taunton Castle, which later became a priory. The Normans built a castle owned by the ...

, and

References

External links

Massachusetts Area Code Map
Mass. Department of Telecommunications and Cable

508 __NOTOC__ Year 508 ( DVIII) was a leap year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. In the Roman Empire, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Venantius and Celer (or, less frequently, year ...

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History

Service area

See also

References

External links