The area code 671 is the local

telephone A telephone, colloquially referred to as a phone, is a telecommunications device that enables 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 ...

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 ...

of the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

territory of

Guam Guam ( ; ) is an island that is an Territories of the United States, organized, unincorporated territory of the United States in the Micronesia subregion of the western Pacific Ocean. Guam's capital is Hagåtña, Guam, Hagåtña, and the most ...

. It was created with the beginning of permissive dialing on July 1, 1997, replacing Guam's previous

International Telecommunication Union The International Telecommunication Union (ITU)In the other common languages of the ITU: * * is a list of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations responsible for many matters related to information ...

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 an integrated 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, World Numbering Zone ...

, the

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

(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 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. 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 of the North American Numbering Plan (NANP). It is the practice of including the area code of a telephone number when Dialling (telephony), dialing to initiate a t ...

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

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, which created a conflict for exchanges that still permitted seven-digit dialing.

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, Asan-Maina, Piti, Chalan-Pago-Ordot, Mongmong-Toto-Maite *56X: Agat, Santa Rita *63X: Dededo *64X: Tamuning *65X:

Yigo Yigo, Guam (; ) is the northernmost village of the United States territory of Guam, and is the location of Andersen Air Force Base. The municipality of Yigo is the largest village on the island in terms of area. It contains a number of populated pl ...

*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 () 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. The communi ...

*789:

Yona The word Yona in Pali and the Prakrits, and the analogue Yavana in Sanskrit, were used in Ancient India to designate Greek speakers. "Yona" and "Yavana" are transliterations of the Greek word for "Ionians" (), who were probably the first Gr ...

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 Malesso' (formerly Merizo) is the southernmost village in the United States territory of Guam. Cocos Island (Chamorro: Islan Dåno) is a part of the municipality. The village's population has decreased since the island's 2010 census. Malesso' is ...

, Inarajan, Umatac *969: DoCoMo Pacific subscribers

References

External links