MADISON, Wis. — A new area code has been added to overlay the area where the 920 area code is currently in service. The Public Service Commission of Wisconsin officially launched the new area code on Friday, which was first announced last month.

This area includes the communities of Appleton, Beaver Dam, Berlin, Fond du Lac, Fort Atkinson, Green Bay, Manitowoc, Oshkosh, Ripon, Sheboygan, Sturgeon Bay and Watertown. The new 274 area code began service on May 5.

The 920 area code is expected to run out of the three numbers in a phone number following the area code, called assignable prefixes, by the first quarter of 2024. The new 274 area code will be used to provide telephone numbers to new customers.

The PSC said all current customers will retain their existing telephone numbers and will continue to dial and receive calls without change.

Following the process established by the PSC, the North American Numbering Plan Administrator filed a notification of the process to overlay a new area code. This process will provide additional numbering resources to meet the demand for telephone numbers.

NANPA will assign 274 area codes once the remaining 920 area codes have been assigned, which could happen as soon as the end of the year.

An area code overlay adds a second area code to the geographic region served by the existing area code. Therefore, multiple area codes can co-exist within the same geographic region.

Customers will continue to dial the three-digit area code for all calls to and from telephone numbers with the 920 and 274 area codes. The PSC noted the price of a call will not change due to the overlay.

This is the first time in nearly 13 years that the state has put a new area code in place. The last was 534, which was implemented in October 2010.