Wisconsin Is Getting A New Telephone Area Code Starting In September

WISCONSIN — A new telephone area code goes into effect for parts of southwest and south central Wisconsin in September as the 608 code is expected to run out of assignable prefixes by early 2024, the Wisconsin Public Service Commission announced Wednesday.

The new code, 353, will be overlayed in areas that currently use the 608 code including Madison, Beloit, Janesville, La Crosse, Middletone, Monroe, Wisconsin Dells and beyond, although current phone numbers won't be affected. Rather, new phone lines will be assigned the code, the PSC said.

See also: 10-Digit Dialing Will Change How Wisconsin Makes Local Calls

The move comes after the PSC filed plans to overlay the new area code in June 2022, and after much of the state switched over to 10-digit-dialing, which requires callers to dial an area code with every call amid the implementation of the 988 National Suicide Prevention line.

The current 608 code is set to run out of assignable prefixes by next year or earlier, the PSC said. The process will overlay a second area code on top of the current geographic region, so that multiple area codes co-exist in the same region. Calls for 911 and other three-digit services will remain unaffected by the change.