512 area code 2-1-0 may today be synonymous with the Alamo City, but that wasn’t always the case. Beginning in October 1947, San Antonio (as well as Brownsville, Corpus Christi, Harlingen and McAllen) phone numbers used the 5-1-2 area code. With growth rampant in the area, San Antonio adopted the 2-1-0 area code in 1992. Today, Austin and its suburbs use 5-1-2. Map via North American Numbering Association Credit: North American Numbering Association

By early 2018, new numbers in San Antonio probably won’t be the iconic 210.

Because of regional growth, an abundance of cellphones and more business landlines being installed, the North American Numbering Plan Association (NANPA) petitioned the Public Utility Commission to let it assign Bexar County a new area code. 

NANPA announced Thursday that the PUC gave the go ahead to make 726 San Antonio’s newest area code. And new phone numbers could start being assigned the fresh triple digits by October 2017. At first, new customers can either get 210 or 726 area codes. But again, by 2018, NANPA says there won’t be any 210s left to assign. The new code will also apply to small parts of Atascosa, Comal, Guadalupe, Medina and Wilson counties.

According to PUC paperwork, the last time San Antonio had an area code change was 1992, when the city split from Austin’s 512. The 726’s code longevity is expected to last 33 years, according to PUC paperwork.

This article appears in Jul 20-26, 2016.

Mark Reagan isn't from Texas, but he came here as soon as he could. He got his start on the windy plains of southwest Kansas at the Dodge City Daily Globe where he covered education and eventually served...