The Maine Public Utilities Commission has announced that the latest analysis of phone number usage in Maine estimates the state will be able to function with a single area code for longer than the commission initially thought.

The commission relies on data from the North American Numbering Plan Administrator, which runs an international numbering plan that studies phone number assignments in the US, Canada and 18 other countries in North America and the Caribbean.

The plan’s latest data predicts Maine will not run out of phone numbers in the 207 area code until at least “the second quarter of 2036.” That’s up to two and a half years longer than the previous prediction of late 2033.

Utility officials have been studying assigned phone numbers in Maine as far back as 2021, trying to make sure that, under the single 207 area code, the state doesn’t run out of available phone numbers. 

"The commission is very active in a number of conservation efforts, working with companies to ensure they get the telephone numbers they need, while asking other companies to return numbers they don’t need," said Philip L. Bartlett II, the commission’s chair. 

Other states, such as Massachusetts, have added several area codes over the years to accommodate the growing need for phone numbers. Other states, such as New Hampshire, continue to operate with only one area code.

The commission and other authorities continue to monitor needs nationwide. If there is enough of a national shortage of available phone numbers someday, it’s possible that the numbering systems could change across the country, adding two digits to all phone numbers.

Such an undertaking, however, would be expensive, costing as much as $270 billion, and the international plan administrators has not indicated it will be needed anytime soon, if at all.