East Tennesseans have another new area code, and it will add three more digits to most local calls.
As of Aug. 5, callers in upper and lower East Tennessee, within the 423 area code region, will transition to 10-digit dialing and will need to dial a 423 or 729 area code to complete all local calls. Anyone who attempts to dial seven digits without an area code will be unable to complete the call and will instead hear a recorded message.
Soon after, starting on Sept. 5, new telephone lines in the region will be assigned the new 729 area code. Those with the new area code will also need to dial 10 digits for local calls.
Originally, the new area code and 10-digit dialing were supposed to begin in February and March, but were delayed several months due to Hurricane Helene’s devastating impact on Northeast Tennessee.
The Tennessee Public Utility Commission stated that the changes will not impact 911 or any other special-use numbers, such as 311.
For people who already have a 423 area code, nothing changes.
The Tennessee Public Utility Commission stated that the new 729 area code was necessary because the 423 area code is projected to exhaust its numbers by the end of 2025. New numbers in those regions will be assigned to the 729 area code once it is activated.
Once the new area code rules take effect, nearly all of East Tennessee will be required to use 10-digit dialing. In 2021, the Federal Communications Commission implemented mandatory 10-digit dialing for the 865 area code region, which includes Knox County and its neighboring counties.
This is not the first area code change for East Tennessee. The entire eastern half of the state used the 615 area code for decades until the mid-1990s, when it was decided to put the Eastern Grand Division under a new area code: 423.
But it only took a few years before the 423 area code was put on the brink of running out of numbers. In 1999, Knox County and its neighboring counties were assigned to a new area code: 865, which had a decidedly orange tint to the digits. If you look at the phone keypad, it spells out: “VOL.”
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