BUFFALO, N.Y. — Moving forward it will be easier to tell if someone is "old-school" Western New York, or if they're new.
At least new in getting a phone number, that is.
Get ready to call some of your friends and neighbors by dialing the area code "624."
The New York State Public Service Commission announced Wednesday that "624" is going to be the area code that new numbers in the current "716" area will get. The new rollout is expected to start in starting about a year and a half from now.
If you have a "716" number now, it won't change and calls to "624" will still be local calls.
The PSC says a new area code because wireline "716" numbers were running in low supply.
The new area code is expected to be activated before the second quarter of 2024, when it is expected the region could run out of available phone numbers.
Demand for new phone numbers is driven largely by the proliferation of new technology that requires an individual phone number, particularly cell phones.
As opposed to a generation ago when there was generally one phone per household, these days it's not uncommon for each member of a household to have a cell phone with its own number, helping to create the issue of numbers within an area code being exhausted.
Splitting the 716 area code into two regions, like what happened in 2001 when the Rochester area was spun off and given a new 585 area code, was not considered, as such splits have been found to be too disruptive for residents and businesses, and not necessary with the ability to overlay a new area code.
The new one should last us the next 29 years or so.