Area code 417 is a telephone

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, rea ...

in the North American Numbering Plan (NANP) for the southwestern quadrant of Missouri, including the cities of Branson, Carl Junction, Carthage, Joplin, Lebanon, Neosho, Nixa, Ozark,

Springfield Springfield may refer to: * Springfield (toponym), the place name in general Places and locations Australia * Springfield, New South Wales (Central Coast) * Springfield, New South Wales (Snowy Monaro Regional Council) * Springfield, Queenslan ...

, and

West Plains West Plains is a city in, and the county seat of Howell County, Missouri, United States. The population was 12,184 at the 2020 census. History The history of West Plains can be traced back to 1832, when settler Josiah Howell (after whom Howell ...

. Area code 417 was created in 1951 as a split from

area code 816 Area code 816 is a telephone area code in the North American Numbering Plan (NANP) for Kansas City, St. Joseph, and all or part of 15 surrounding counties in northwestern Missouri. The numbering plan area originally comprised most of the northern ...

History

When the American Telephone and Telegraph Company (AT&T) created a universal North American telephone numbering plan for

Operator Toll Dialing Operator Toll Dialing was a telephone call routing and toll-switching system for the Bell System and the independent telephone companies in the United States and Canada that was developed in the 1940s. It automated the switching and billing of lo ...

in 1947, Missouri was divided into two numbering plan areas (NPAs). Area code 816 served points generally north and west of

Columbia Columbia may refer to: * Columbia (personification), the historical female national personification of the United States, and a poetic name for America Places North America Natural features * Columbia Plateau, a geologic and geographic region in ...

and Jefferson City, while area code 314 served the eastern third of the state, including St. Louis. In 1951, area code 417 was created as the third code in the state, for southwestern Missouri, comprising the southern half of the original 816 boundaries. Despite with the presence of Springfield, the state's third-largest city, 417 is one of the most sparsely populated numbering plan areas in the nation. Despite the growing proliferation of cell phones and smart phones (particularly in and around Springfield), it is projected that a second area code will not be required in southwest Missouri until about 2027.. Prior to October 2021, area code 417 had telephone numbers assigned for the central office code 988. In 2020, ''988'' was designated nationwide as a dialing code for the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, which created a conflict for exchanges that permit seven-digit dialing. This area code was therefore scheduled to transition to ten-digit dialing by October 24, 2021.

References

External links

List of exchanges from AreaCodeDownload.com, 417 Area Code
Telecommunications-related introductions in 1951

417 __NOTOC__ Year 417 ( CDXVII) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Honorius and Constantius (or, less frequently, year 1170 ...

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