Summary of US Area Code System

The area code system that we use today was originally designed by AT&T in the 1940’s to standardize the growing and varied types of local numbering plans developed since the invention of the telephone. The original name for what we have come to know as the area code was the North American Number Plan (NANP). When the original network was finished only 86 area codes were initially assigned, with New Jersey receiving the initial area code of 201. Since its initial introduction the system has grown to cover the entire US and is used in other North American countries, such as Canada and Mexico. When personal phone numbers were first assigned the only way to track who called you was to search the local white pages. Finding out the phone number of someone calling long distance was virtually impossible. Today, WhoEasy offers an easy and simple way to trace any phone number by simply entering it into our search bar and clicking search.