In telephony

Telephony

In telecommunications, telephony encompasses the general use of equipment to provide communication over distances, specifically by connecting telephones to each other....

, a split plan is the practice of introducing a new area code by dividing an existing area code's territory and applying the new area code to one of the resulting divisions, replacing the existing area code within that section.

Split plans are used as growth in demand for telephone numbers (due to the increase in use of pagers, fax machines, and cellular phones) required new area codes in increasingly densely populated areas. Unpopularity results from the fact that, after a split plan is implemented, the telephone numbers in an affected area are changed to a new area code, requiring printing of new stationery

Stationery

Stationery has historically meant a wide gamut of materials: paper and office supplies, writing implements, greeting cards, glue, pencil case etc.-History of stationery:...

, advertisement, and signage, and the dissemination of new numbers to family, friends, and customers.

As a result, in the mid 1990s, the North American Numbering Plan

North American Numbering Plan

The North American Numbering Plan is an integrated telephone numbering plan administered by Neustar which encompasses 24 countries and territories, including the United States and its territories, Canada, Bermuda, and 16 nations of the Caribbean...

 introduced overlay plan

Overlay plan

In telephony, especially in North America, an overlay plan is the practice of introducing a new area code by applying it onto a geographic area that is already occupied by one or more existing area codes, resulting in two area codes serving the same area.- Methodology :Prior to the introduction of...

s, which apply multiple area codes to the same area. They allow customers to keep existing phone numbers, but require 10-digit dialing

10-digit dialing

In the United States and Canada, 10-digit dialing is a popular term used to refer to the practice of including the area code of a phone number when dialing...

 in the affected area.

See also

• Flash-cut
  Flash-cut
  A flash-cut, also called flash-cutover, is an immediate change in a complex system, with no phase-in period.Some telephone area codes were split immediately, rather than being phased in with a permissive dialing period. An example is telephone area code 213, which was split into 213 and 714 all at...
  
  
• Numbering plan area
• Number pooling
  Number pooling
  Number pooling is a method of reallocating telephony numbering space in the North American Numbering Plan, primarily in growth areas in the United States....
  
  
• Permissive dialing
  Permissive dialing
  In North America, permissive dialing is the ability to make phone calls in an area subject to a newly introduced area code using both the new and preexisting dialing methods....
  
  
• 7-digit dialing
  7-digit dialing
  7-digit dialing is a popular term referring to the traditional convention in the United States and Canada for dialing local phone calls. It is also sometimes known as local format or network format....
  
  
• Telephone exchange
  Telephone exchange
  In the field of telecommunications, a telephone exchange or telephone switch is a system of electronic components that connects telephone calls...