916
Area code
CA
United States geographic area code, in service since 1947-01-01. Part of the 279/916 overlay complex — ten-digit dialing required.
Statusin service
Introduced1947-01-01
JurisdictionCA, US
Local dialing1+10D
Time zonePacific
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 2001-03-01, most recent 2024-02-06.
Area codes serve rate-center geographies, not municipal boundaries. “CA” identifies the jurisdiction, not an exact city footprint.
Top assignees
Ranked by assigned prefixes · initial assignee ≠ current carrier| Rank | Assignee | Prefixes | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | PACIFIC BELL | 237 | 29.6% |
| 02 | NEW CINGULAR WIRELESS PCS, LLC | 77 | 9.6% |
| 03 | CELLCO PARTNERSHIP DBA VERIZON WIRELESS - CA | 60 | 7.5% |
| 04 | METROPCS, INC. | 49 | 6.1% |
| 05 | T-MOBILE USA, INC. | 40 | 5% |
| 06 | CONSOLIDATED COMMUNICATIONS OF CALIFORNIA COMPANY | 34 | 4.3% |
| 07 | ONVOY, LLC - CA | 30 | 3.8% |
| 08 | LEVEL 3 COMMUNICATIONS, LLC - CA | 26 | 3.3% |
| 09 | CITIZENS TELECOM CA. DBA FRONTIER COM OF CA | 24 | 3% |
| 10 | TELEPORT COMMUNICATIONS AMERICA, LLC - CA | 21 | 2.6% |
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- 2017-03-08 NPA 279 to Overlay NPA 916 (California)
- 1947-01-01Area code 916 entered service.
Planning letters & orders
Primary documents| Date | Document | Subject |
|---|---|---|
| 2017-03-08 | PL-502 ↗ | NPA 279 to Overlay NPA 916 (California) |