Area code 908 is a
telephone
A telephone is a telecommunications device that permits two or more users to conduct a conversation when they are too far apart to be easily heard directly. A telephone converts sound, typically and most efficiently the human voice, into el ...
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, re ...
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 calling ...
(NANP) in the
northern part of the
U.S. state of
New Jersey
New Jersey is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York (state), New York; on the ea ...
. The numbering plan area (NPA) comprises communities in
Union County,
Somerset County, northern parts of
Middlesex County,
Hunterdon County,
Warren County, and parts of
Morris County as well as some cell phones in
Monmouth and
Ocean
The ocean (also the sea or the world ocean) is the body of salt water that covers approximately 70.8% of the surface of Earth and contains 97% of Earth's water. An ocean can also refer to any of the large bodies of water into which the wo ...
Counties.
History
Area code 201, originally the only area code for New Jersey when 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 calling ...
was created in 1947, had been the area code for all of northern and central New Jersey since 1958.
In June 1989, New Jersey Bell announced a split of numbering plan area 201 to create a new area code, 908, in North Jersey. The area code became functional in January 1990, which started a permissive dialing period for the 314 central offices during which existing telephone numbers in the service area could be dialed with 201 or 908 area codes. The permissive dialing period ended on June 8, 1991, making the split fully effective. Customers in the remaining 201 area had to prefix existing and new numbers in 908 with 1–908. At the time of the split, 1.5 million access lines were served by the new area code.
On January 1, 1997, 908 was reduced to its western portion, forming
area code 732 in the central eastern region of New Jersey.
[Newman, Andy]
"New Area Codes Introduced"
''The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'', June 2, 1997. Accessed January 23, 2008. It was the penultimate area code added in the X0X format when
909 was added a year later in California.
Middlesex County is largely 908 in
South Plainfield
South Plainfield is a borough in Middlesex County, New Jersey, United States. It is located in the heart of the Raritan Valley region. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough's population was 23,385,[Edison
Thomas Alva Edison (February 11, 1847October 18, 1931) was an American inventor and businessman. He developed many devices in fields such as electric power generation, mass communication, sound recording, and motion pictures. These invention ...]
(particularly Inman Avenue and north of Oak Tree Road) and
Piscataway (particularly the New Market area near
Plainfield). 908 and the
Delaware Valley's
856 are the only area codes in the state that have yet to be overlaid.
Prior to October 2021, area code 908 had telephone numbers assigned for the
central office code 988. In 2020, ''988'' was designated nationwide as a dialing code for the
National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, which created a conflict for exchanges that permit
seven-digit dialing. This area code was therefore scheduled to transition to
ten-digit dialing by October 24, 2021.
See also
*
Central Jersey
References
External links
List of exchanges from AreaCodeDownload.com, 908 Area Code
{{Coord, 40.4744, -74.4258, display=title
908
908