Area code 872 is a

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 ...

overlay of telephone area codes 312 and

773 __NOTOC__ Year 773 ( DCCLXXIII) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. The denomination 773 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar e ...

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...

, and entered service on November 7, 2009. Its overlay status means it is assigned only to new numbers in the area and not to existing numbers using the 312 and 773 area codes. It is the third overlay area code in the region and the tenth area code to serve northeast Illinois. As early as 1998, Neustar, which administers the

, had recommended a third area code for Chicago, estimating that 312 and 773 would both exhaust by 2001. However, the

Illinois Commerce Commission The Illinois Commerce Commission is a quasi-judicial tribunal that regulates public utility services in the U.S. state of Illinois. The mission of the ICC is "to pursue an appropriate balance between the interest of consumers and existing and emer ...

implemented a series of conservation measures that staved off the need for a new area code. By 2008, a combination of population growth and a large growth in cell phone usage forced the implementation of 872. With the implementation of 872, all local calls in Chicago must be dialed with the full 11-digit phone number ( 10 digits from cell phones). The Illinois side of the Chicago area–312/773/872, 708/464, 847/224, 630/331 and portions of 815/779–is one of the largest local calling areas in the United States; with few exceptions, no long-distance charges are applied from one portion of the metro area to another.Local calling guide: Chicago Zone 01: Calumet, IL
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References

External links

North American Numbering Plan Administration 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 ...

's website
List of exchanges from AreaCodeDownload.com, 872 Area Code

872 Year 872 ( DCCCLXXII) was a leap year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Europe * Sancho III Mitarra (or ''Menditarra'') becomes the founder and first 'king' of the indepe ...

Chicago

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