South Carolina is getting a fourth area code.
New phone numbers issued in much of the Upstate will soon begin with area code 821. The new area code will mingle among the current 864 that begins numbers from Cherokee County to the western edge of the state. But existing 864 numbers will not be affected.
The state Public Service Commission made the announcement Monday. 821 is in response to how fast Upstate cities like Greenville, Anderson, and Spartanburg are growing. The Public Service Commission soon expects to run out of new 864 numbers to give.
Monday’s announcement is the culmination of a directive started by the PSC more than a year ago, when commissioners stated that South Carolina expects to exhaust the 864 area code by 2025.
