Area Code 316 is the area code for telephone exchanges in the city of Wichita, Kansas and surrounding communities. The area code formerly covered all of southern Kansas.
History of area codes in Kansas
Despite a relatively small population, Kansas was scheduled to receive two area codes under the original North American Numbering Plan proposal from the Bell Telephone Company in 1946. Originally, area codes would follow sequentially based on geography, and under the 1946 plan, Kansas would receive area codes 617 and 618.(1)
In October 1947, the final plan was adopted, and Kansas still had its two area codes, although the numbers had been radically altered from the original plan. The southern half of the state (Dodge City, Emporia, Garden City, Wichita) would receive 316, while the northern half (Kansas City, Topeka, Lawrence, Salina, Hays) would receive 913. All long-distance calls using area codes would not be implemented until late in 1951.
Although Kansas has historically been known for rivalries between the western and eastern parts of the state, a north-south split was deemed necessary because the state's three largest metropolitan areas (Kansas City, Topeka and Wichita) are all in the east.
Kansas goes from two area codes to four
The two area codes of Kansas remained constant for more than 40 years. But by the mid-1990s, the exchanges for area code 913 were being exhausted due to the proliferation of cell phones, the population explosion in the Kansas City metropolitan area (most notably Johnson County), and deregulation due to the Telecommunications Act of 1996.
Late in 1996, the Kansas Corporation Commission, which oversees telecommunications in the state, requested relief from the NANPA for the exchanges of area code 913, and on February 12, 1997, the NANPA responded by splitting most of northern Kansas from area code 913 into the new area code 785. From July 20, 1997 through October 2, 1998, customers affected by the new area code could use either 913 or 785 when dialing long-distance. On October 3, 1998, the 785 area code became mandatory in the new calling area.
The southern half of the state would soon follow. With a similar proliferation of cell phones, especially in and around Wichita, the KCC requested relief for area code 316. On September 21, 2000, the NANPA split off most of southern Kansas and gave it the new 620 area code. Between February 3 and November 2, 2001, numbers in the affected area could be dialed using 316 or 620, whereafter when the use of 620 became mandatory.
Major cities in area code 316
Boundaries of area code 316
When most of area code 316 was moved to the new area code 620, all of Sedgwick County, as well as portions of Butler, Kingman, Reno and Harvey counties remained in area code 316.
When area code 316 covered all of southern Kansas, the boundary ran from west to east roughly following a path along K-4 and K-96. The code boundary dipped along I-135 in McPherson County and continued east to just north of Emporia in Lyon County along the Kansas Turnpike, and ended at the Missouri state line.
With the area code now shrunk to a fraction of its former size, 316 is the only one of Kansas' four area codes that does not reach the Missouri border.
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