Area Code 814 Structure Will Remain As Is

There will be no “splitting” of the familiar 814 area code any time soon for telephone exchanges in the region. Members of the Pa. Public Utility Commission (PUC) voted 5-0 to dismiss the geographic division that was proposed last year. One of the major factors in the unanimous ruling was the overwhelming opposition to shifting a portion of the 814 area into a region with a 582 area code. Businesses were especially vocal in their opposition, citing added costs and inconvenience in implementing a new phone number. In 2010, the PUC approved a plan to split the 814 area code along geographic boundaries to avoid running out of phone numbers. That plan would have created a new area code for many customers. Most recently, PUC determined that there are sufficient phone numbers in the 814 area code region to last into the second quarter of 2018.