Will Montana Get Additional Area Code? 406 is Running Out of Room

We moved a couple of times when I was growing and each time we did we had to change area codes. After I graduated and moved a few hours away from home? New area code. When I moved across the state for a new job? New area code. There were five area codes covering the state! So one thing that I thought was pretty cool when I moved to Montana a few years ago is the fact that the entire state is represented by the  406. It's pretty cool for Montana to associate its identity with just one set of numbers. But what if that isn't a thing in the future?

But Montana is 406 is!

We have so many companies, products, and brands that incorporate 406 into their businesses. How crazy and weird would it be to roll out an additional area code? What if new phone numbers started having to use something downright ridiculous like 523 or something? Have you heard that Montana's 406 area code is starting to run out of room? Whoa! Can we wrap our heads around anything but 406?

Why are we running out of numbers?

It's a decently confusing scenario that gets dissected in this article from the Missoulian. To paraphrase, blocks of numbers are reserved for certain areas and prefixes. There could be 10,000 number combinations that are assigned to an area that only has a few hundred people. The hope is that those unused numbers could be reassigned to other prefixes.

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It looks like we still have some time

The way things are projected now, the 406 are code is set to max out in 2027. The pitch is being made to the FCC to let Montana keep it as the sole area code for a few more years. You can bet we'll be following along to see where this story leads.

Will we see a day anytime soon when Montana has more than one area code?