704
Area code
NC
United States geographic area code, in service since 1947-01-01. Part of the 704/980 overlay complex — ten-digit dialing required.
Statusin service
Introduced1947-01-01
JurisdictionNC, 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 2001-01-05, most recent 2023-07-18.
Area codes serve rate-center geographies, not municipal boundaries. “NC” identifies the jurisdiction, not an exact city footprint.
Top assignees
Ranked by assigned prefixes · initial assignee ≠ current carrier| Rank | Assignee | Prefixes | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | BELLSOUTH TELECOMM INC DBA SOUTHERN BELL TEL & TEL | 246 | 30.8% |
| 02 | CELLCO PARTNERSHIP DBA VERIZON WIRELESS - NC | 95 | 11.9% |
| 03 | SUNCOM DBA T-MOBILE USA | 60 | 7.5% |
| 04 | NEW CINGULAR WIRELESS PCS, LLC - GA | 55 | 6.9% |
| 05 | WINDSTREAM CONCORD TELEPHONE, LLC | 46 | 5.8% |
| 06 | PAETEC ITEL, LLC | 45 | 5.6% |
| 07 | WINDSTREAM NORTH CAROLINA, INC. | 39 | 4.9% |
| 08 | LEVEL 3 COMMUNICATIONS, LLC - NC | 36 | 4.5% |
| 09 | LEVEL 3 TELECOM OF NORTH CAROLINA, LP - NC | 29 | 3.6% |
| 10 | WINDSTREAM COMMUNICATIONS, INC. - NC | 25 | 3.1% |
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- 2001-01-23 Revised Mandatory Dialing Date for NPA 704 (North Carolina) other
- 2000-04-28 NPA 980 To Overlay NPA 704 (North Carolina)
- 1947-01-01Area code 704 entered service.
Planning letters & orders
Primary documents| Date | Document | Subject |
|---|---|---|
| 2001-01-09 | PL-256 ↗ | Revised Mandatory 10-Digit Dialing Date for NPA 704/980 (North Carolina) |
| 2000-04-28 | PL-229 ↗ | NPA 980 To Overlay NPA 704 (North Carolina) |
| 1999-12-17 | PL-204 ↗ | NPA 980 to Overlay NPA 704 (North Carolina) |
| 1999-06-01 | PL-179 ↗ | Extraordinary NPA-Specific Jeopardy Conservation Procedures Announced for 704 NPA (North Carolina) |