With the 860 area code of northern Connecticut expected to exhaust its supply of unassigned numbers by year’s end, the state will be getting another area code this summer: 959

The 959 area code will be used in 860 area as an “overlay,” meaning that both area codes will be found in the same geographic area, the Public Utilities Regulatory Authority announced Monday.

Customers requesting new service or in some cases moving existing service after Aug. 30 could be assigned a 959 area code.

The state already has designated 475 as an overlay for the 203 area, although it is not widely in use.

PURA says that for most customers, the new area code should have minimal impact. Existing phone numbers will not change, and local calling areas will remain the same.

Mark is the Capitol Bureau Chief and a co-founder of CT Mirror. He is a frequent contributor to WNPR, a former state politics writer for The Hartford Courant and Journal Inquirer, and contributor for The New York Times.

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