Key Facts About Area Code 727
- Coverage Area: Area code 727 covers most of Pinellas County, Florida, including major cities like St. Petersburg, Clearwater, and Pinellas Park, as well as the western third of Pasco County, which includes communities such as Port Richey, New Port Richey, and Holiday. A notable exception is the majority of Oldsmar, which remains in area code 813.
- Historical Background:
- Area Code 813 (Pre-1998): For over four decades, area code 813 covered a vast region that included 13 counties surrounding Tampa Bay. This included cities like Sarasota, Ellenton, and Port Charlotte.
- Creation of Area Code 727 (1998): Due to the growing demand for phone numbers, Pinellas County and the western part of Pasco County were separated from 813 and assigned the new area code 727 in 1998.
- The Shift from Overlay to Split:
- Area code 727 was initially planned to be introduced as an overlay for the existing 813 area code, which would have required new phone numbers to be issued with the new code and forced 10-digit dialing. However, at the time, overlays were a relatively new and unpopular concept. The public’s resistance to the inconvenience of 10-digit dialing led GTE, the dominant telephone carrier in the area, to revise the plan and instead implement a split between the two area codes.
- Oldsmar’s Unique Position:
- Despite the county-based split, most of Oldsmar stayed within area code 813. This exception occurred because Oldsmar’s telephone infrastructure was closely tied to Tampa’s system. The cost and complexity of rewiring Oldsmar into the new 727 area code were deemed too high, so it remained part of the 813 area code.
More Area code: Area Code 562