617
Area code
MA
United States geographic area code, in service since 1947-01-01. Part of the 617/857 overlay complex — ten-digit dialing required.
Statusin service
Introduced1947-01-01
JurisdictionMA, US
Local dialing10D
Time zoneEastern
Last verified2026-09-17
Utilization 101% of assignable prefixes assigned
As of 09/17/2026
0%800 of ~792 assignable NXX values (200–999 excl. N11)100%
Prefix-level assignment does not equal number-level exhaustion; thousands-block pooling extends capacity. First assignment on record 2001-02-14, most recent 2025-03-18.
Area codes serve rate-center geographies, not municipal boundaries. “MA” identifies the jurisdiction, not an exact city footprint.
Top assignees
Ranked by assigned prefixes · initial assignee ≠ current carrier| Rank | Assignee | Prefixes | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | VERIZON NEW ENGLAND INC. | 334 | 41.8% |
| 02 | MCIMETRO ACCESS TRANSMISSION SERVICES LLC | 71 | 8.9% |
| 03 | NEW CINGULAR WIRELESS PCS, LLC - DC | 68 | 8.5% |
| 04 | PAETEC ITEL, LLC | 44 | 5.5% |
| 05 | TC SYSTEMS, INC. | 41 | 5.1% |
| 06 | LEVEL 3 COMMUNICATIONS, LLC - MA | 39 | 4.9% |
| 07 | CELLCO PARTNERSHIP DBA VERIZON WIRELESS - MA | 38 | 4.8% |
| 08 | OMNIPOINT MIAMI E LICENSE, LLC | 32 | 4% |
| 09 | METROPCS, INC. | 26 | 3.3% |
| 10 | RCN TELECOM SERVICES, INC. - MA | 19 | 2.4% |
Important: these are initial assignees from NANPA CO-code records — the carrier a prefix was originally assigned to. Because of number portability, the current serving carrier of any individual number may differ.
Change history
Recorded events for this NPA- 1947-01-01Area code 617 entered service.
Planning letters & orders
Primary documents| Date | Document | Subject |
|---|---|---|
| 2000-07-11 | PL-234 ↗ | NPA 774 To Overlay NPA 508; NPA 857 To Overlay NPA 617; NPA 339 To Overlay NPA 781; and NPA 351 To Overlay NPA 978 (Massachusetts) |
| 1998-06-09 | PL-122 ↗ | Extraordinary Jeopardy Procedures for 508, 617, 781 and 978 Numbering Plan Area (NPA) in Massachusetts |