Detroit “The 313 needs backup.
Introducing the 679.
Detroit, Downriver, Grosse Pointes, and other nearby Wayne County suburbs may soon need a new telephone area code. All 313 phone numbers are expected to be in use by the third quarter of 2025, the Michigan Public Service Commission announced Thursday.
The state’s utilities regulator scheduled a public hearing in March to discuss adding an overlay 679 area code to Detroit, its enclaves – Hamtramck and Highland Park – and the suburbs of Allen Park, Dearborn, Dearborn Heights, Ecorse, Grosse Pointes, Inkster, Lincoln Park, Redford Township, River Rouge and Taylor.
The proposed 679 area code would overlap with Detroit and the surrounding first ring suburbs that have had the 313 area code since 1947. This means that if you already had a 313 number, you wouldn’t lose it. Only new customers in the area would receive numbers with the 679 area code.
Area code 313 has become a symbol of pride for Detroit. It is part of the vernacular and is printed on T-shirts, bags and other merchandise.
March 13th is marked as a celebration of Detroit and its impact on food, music, movies and more.
Entrepreneurs named their businesses for the area code. Campaigns focused on inclusion and increased opportunity for Detroiters embraced it.
Patrick Ayoub, the owner of Detroit Watch Co. in Birmingham with his wife, Amy, said it was “a no-brainer” to name one of his watches after the appearance of a rotary phone after the 313 area code. cities such as New York and Toronto.
“People use it because they’re from ‘313,’” Ayoub said. “It is literally the representation of Detroit itself. People shop in Detroit and Metro Detroit, but also Detroiters and Michiganders who have moved. It is very special for them to buy it. It’s ‘I’m from Detroit, or originally from Detroit.’ There is a connection.”
More:March 13 is the 313th day. Step back in time with these photos of Detroit
679 was proposed before
The North America Numbering Plan Administrator, responsible for administering telephone numbering plans in the United States, Canada and several Caribbean countries, filed a petition in November to introduce a new 679 area code for Detroit.
Area code 313 has since been split twice, once in 1993 to create area code 810 for the Brighton, Flint and Port Huron areas, and again in 1997 to create area code 734 for the county’s western suburbs. of Wayne and Washtenaw and Monroe counties. .
The addition of the 679 area code would require callers to dial the area codes when making local calls to 313 or 679 numbers, the public service commission said. The change would not affect customer accounts.
Adding another area code would also require some devices, such as auto-dialing equipment, medical devices and home security systems, to be reprogrammed if they were set to only dial seven digits, the MPSC said.
NANPA first attempted to introduce the 679 area code override plan in 2000, but its implementation was delayed following changes in federal numbering policy and numbering conservation efforts, the Public Service Commission said.
In its petition, NANPA said customer education, dial plan best practices and technical milestones have changed since 2000 and asked the commission to update the old plan, which was approved in 2001.
The public hearing to discuss the overlapping 679 area code will be held from 1:30 pm to 3:00 pm on March 9 at the downtown campus of Wayne County Community College, 1001 W. Fort St., Frank Hayden Community Room #236.
The public may submit written comments on the override plan to the MPSC by mailing them to PO Box 30221, Lansing, MI 48909, or by emailing them to mpscedockets@michigan.gov. All written comments must reference case #U-21337, the commission said.
‘313 is more than an area code’
Adding a new area code can put some organizations, especially those focused on inclusion and expanding opportunities, in a bind.
Venture 313, for example, is a platform run by the billionaire businessman Dan Gilbert’s family foundation to encourage entrepreneurship in the city.
James Feagin, the foundation’s director of economic mobility and founder of Venture 313, said in a statement that it will continue to do its work supporting business owners as-is, “regardless of what their phone number is in the future.”
“313 is more than an area code,” Feagin said. “It is an identity. Detroiters have a long history of maintaining our connection to parts of this city long after names and numbers have changed. At the very least, it will make our connection even stronger.”
Some people still don’t know what to think about the proposal.
Chris Reynolds, owner of the Detroit Life clothing store in the Mall at Partridge Creek in Clinton Township, has been working on some new designs with “313” and “the original 313” on them.
“That would be crazy,” Reynolds said of the planned 679 area code.
But he is optimistic that Detroit will not lose its 313 identity.
“It’s representing the best city in the world, in my opinion,” said Reynolds. “313 will always be Detroit. It is known throughout the United States and the world.”
He would know. He said he ships “313” shirts as far away as Europe, Madagascar and Iran.
Could he imagine adding some “679” swag to the mix?
“As of today, no way,” Reynolds said. “Absolutely not.”
bnoble@detroitnews.com
hmackay@detroitnews.com
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