The area code 671 is the local

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 e ...

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, r ...

of the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

territory of

Guam Guam (; ch, Guåhan ) is an organized, unincorporated territory of the United States in the Micronesia subregion of the western Pacific Ocean. It is the westernmost point and territory of the United States (reckoned from the geographic cent ...

. It was created with the beginning of

permissive dialing In North America, permissive dialing is the ability to make phone calls in an area subject to a newly introduced area code by using both the new and preexisting dialing methods. When an area is given a new area code under a split plan, the area's ...

on July 1, 1997, replacing Guam's previous

International Telecommunication Union The International Telecommunication Union is a specialized agency of the United Nations responsible for many matters related to information and communication technologies. It was established on 17 May 1865 as the International Telegraph Unio ...

country code 671 at the end of permissive dialing on July 1, 1998.

Origins

Prior to 1997, callers from the rest of the United States had to dial '011-671' and then the seven-digit telephone number to reach Guam, similar to international calls. As international calling rates began to fall in the more competitive destination countries during the 1990s, it became a considerable financial burden for people on the United States mainland to place calls to the United States territory of Guam, especially for those who were stationed in United States military bases there.

Calling costs

After Guam was added to 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 ...

, the

Federal Communications Commission The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that regulates communications by radio, television, wire, satellite, and cable across the United States. The FCC maintains jurisdicti ...

(FCC) regulated calls to and from Guam as "domestic", hence dramatically lowering the cost of these telephone calls. This change also opened up national

toll-free A toll-free telephone number or freephone number is a telephone number that is billed for all arriving calls. For the calling party, a call to a toll-free number from a landline is free of charge. A toll-free number is identified by a dialing pref ...

numbers (as of April 2015, area codes 800, 888, 877, 866, 855 and 844) to callers from Guam, which became very popular with the advent of prepaid phone cards. However, since no U.S. national mobile telephone carriers have a presence on Guam, cellular calls into Guam are not necessarily considered "domestic" or within the definition of "nationwide long distance". The FCC's regulation of Guam as "domestic" has no legal effect for telephone carriers outside the United States, for whom Guam is often not a competitive destination. Therefore, calls from other countries inbound to Guam can still be relatively expensive, especially compared to outbound calls from Guam since Guam is now open to the U.S.-based phone card market through toll-free access.

Dialing

Prior to 2021, within Guam, only the seven-digit phone number was necessary. When a person in Guam calls anywhere in the United States or Canada, one simply dials "1" and then the area code and phone number. For callers in the U.S. or Canada calling to Guam, one first dials '1-671', followed by the seven-digit

phone number A telephone number is a sequence of digits assigned to a landline telephone subscriber station connected to a telephone line or to a wireless electronic telephony device, such as a radio telephone or a mobile telephone, or to other devices f ...

. On October 24, 2021, area code 671 was transitioned to

ten-digit dialing Ten-digit dialing is a telephone dialing procedure in the countries and territories that are members of the North American Numbering Plan (NANP). It is the practice of including the area code of a telephone number when dialing to initiate a telep ...

, despite not being part of an overlay numbering plan, in which multiple area codes are assigned to a numbering plan area. The area code had telephone numbers assigned for the

central office code 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 ...

988. In 2020, ''988'' was designated nationwide as a dialing code for the

National Suicide Prevention Lifeline The 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline (formerly known as the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline) is a United States-based suicide prevention network of over 200+ crisis centers that provides 24/7 service via a toll-free hotline with the number 9- ...

, which created a conflict for exchanges that still permitted

seven-digit dialing Seven-digit dialing is a telephone dialing procedure customary in some territories of the North American Numbering Plan (NANP) for dialing telephone numbers in the same numbering plan area (NPA). NANP telephone numbers consist of ten digits, of wh ...

Prefixes

With a population of less than 200,000, there is only a limited need for prefixes on Guam. Currently, less than 165 of the 800 possibilities are actually in use. Here is a list of landline prefixes on Guam and their associated geographic locations: *3XX: U.S. Military *47X: Hagåtña,

Agana Heights Agana Heights ( ch, Tutuhan) is one of the nineteen villages in the United States territory of Guam. It is located in the hills south of Hagåtña (formerly Agana), in the central part of the island. United States Naval Hospital Guam is located ...

, Asan-Maina, Piti, Chalan-Pago-Ordot,

Mongmong-Toto-Maite Mongmong-Toto-Maite ( ch, Mong Mong-Totu-Maiti) is a municipality in the United States territory of Guam composed of three separate villages east of Hagåtña that experienced development after the Second World War. Mongmong is adjacent to t ...

*56X: Agat, Santa Rita *63X:

Dededo Dededo ( ch, Dedidu; formerly in Spanish: , in Japanese: , ''Dededo'') is the most populated village in the United States territory of Guam. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Dededo's population was just under 45,000 in 2020. The village is lo ...

*64X:

Tamuning Tamuning, also known as Tamuning-Tumon-Harmon ( ch, Tamuneng) is a village located on the western shore of the United States territory of Guam. The village of Tamuning is the economic center of Guam, containing tourist center Tumon, Harmon Indu ...

*65X: Yigo *73X:

Mangilao Mangilao is a village on the eastern shore of the United States territory of Guam. The village's population has decreased slightly since the island's 2010 census. Cliffs lie along much of the village's shoreline provide dramatic views, including ...

Barrigada Barrigada ( ch, Barigåda) is a village in the United States territory of Guam. A largely residential municipality, its main village is located south of the Antonio B. Won Pat International Airport near the intersections of Routes 8, 10, and 16. ...

*789:

Yona The word Yona in Pali and the Prakrits, and the analogue Yavana in Sanskrit and Yavanar in Tamil, were words used in Ancient India to designate Greek speakers. "Yona" and "Yavana" are transliterations of the Greek word for " Ionians" ( grc, ...

Talofofo Talo'fo'fo, formerly Talofofo, is a village located in the southern part of the United States territory of Guam, on the east coast. The village center is located in the hills above the coast, while the smaller coastal community below the cliff is ...

*828: Merizo, Inarajan, Umatac *969:

DoCoMo Pacific Docomo Pacific is a wholly owned subsidiary of Japanese mobile phone operator NTT Docomo headquartered in Tamuning, Guam. It is the largest provider of mobile, television, internet and telephone services to the United States territories of Guam ...

subscribers

References

External links