Suffolk County's New Area Code Will Be 934

A second area code for Suffolk County, 934, is coming by the end of the third quarter of 2016.

“The new 934 area code will provide additional much-needed phone numbers for residents and businesses in Suffolk County,” The New York State Public Service Commission stated in a press release Friday.

The Public Service Commission began in May to investigate and evaluate options to make more phone numbers available for the region currently using 631. The North American Numbering Plan Administrator, Neustar—the entity designated by the Federal Communications Commission to administer area codes throughout the United States—determined that the 631 area code could run out of assignable telephone numbers by the first quarter of 2016 and filed a petition of the telephone industry.

A geographic split, in which half of Suffolk County would use one area code and the other half would use another, was considered. Ultimately, it was decided to go with the “overlay” option—all new telephone numbers in Suffolk would get the 934 area code, while old numbers would retain 631.

Calls from one 631 phone to another 631 phone will require dialing the area code, and the same will be true of 934 to 934 calls.

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The commission noted that the overlay option saves business the trouble and expense of replacing signs to reflect their new phone numbers.

934 will be the 16th area code in New York State.