New GTA area codes coming next year, possible problems as shown on TV

416/647 and 905/289 will both get another area code due to growth

Torontonians and suburban 905ers are about a year away from a major change when dialing a friend's phone number.

Residents of both areas will be seeing new area code overlays with 437 being added to 416/647 and 365 being added to the area now served by the 905/289 codes.

The new numbers are needed to keep up with the growing population, meaning if you live in Toronto and don't want to be known as a 365er, you have a year to get a number.

A new area code may not seem like such a big deal to Torontonians as they've gone through it a few times in the past, but it was certainly a big deal for Elaine Benes and the residents of Springfield.

In the Seinfeld episode called "The Maid", Elaine is forced to get a new number after Kramer signs up to receive restaurant menus by fax and Elaine winds up with dozens of high-pitched tone phone messages. When Elaine gets the new number it is with a 646 area code after the well-known New York code of 212 runs out. She is upset with the number and later in the episode has trouble getting a date when a guy sees the area code.

In The Simpsons episode called "A Tale of Two Springfields", the town in split into two area codes. Angry with getting a new number, Homer rallies a mob to protest the change and the town is eventually divided with Homer declared as mayor. Homer has a wall built between the two towns that resembles the Berlin Wall. Rock band The Who eventually solved the issue by playing a show and suggesting the residents use speed dial.

There were no such extreme stories from previous area code announcements but most people with the 416 prefix seem to be proud to have the original code. The first time Toronto was split may have gone so smoothly because of rulers. Most school children in the region remember the introduction of 905 because it was commemorated with short measurement sticks that changed numbers and colours based on the angle you looked at them.

"The introduction of the new area code in the region enables millions of additional telephone numbers to be provided without affecting the existing numbers," said Glenn Pilley, Director of the Canadian Numbering Administration, in a statement last September shortly after the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission's decision. "It is part of today's reality throughout North America. This measure demonstrates the flexibility and growth potential of the Canadian telecommunications network."

The 416 code is one of the original 86 area codes in North America established in 1947, but now only serves the centre of Toronto.

The western part of the original 416 code was split in 1953 into 519 and the remaining portion outside of the city was split into 905 in 1993. This geographic split made it easy for people referring to the suburbs rather than the city because it could simply be called the 905.

In 2001, Canada received its first overlay code when 647 was added to new numbers in Toronto. The overlay was required then because high population density meant a geographic split was impossible. In the same year, the 905 received the overlay code of 289.

Area code 387 has also been reserved for future use in what will soon be the 416/647/437 area.

The new numbers will be introduced gradually starting next March, giving residents another year to snatch up 416 or 905 numbers. There is no word if rulers will once again be handed out although it may be difficult to fit six different numbers.

(Reuters photo)