View source for Area code 321

{{short description|Area code for east central Florida}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=October 2024}}
[[File:Area Code 321.svg|right|400px]]
'''Area code 321''' is the [[area code]] serving [[Brevard County, Florida]], [[Space Coast]] Region and [[Seminole County, Florida]]. The area code has been in use since November 1, 1999; it was assigned to Florida (instead of suburban Chicago) after a successful petition led by local resident Robert Osband to commemorate the [[Space Coast]]'s impact on Brevard County. When it was activated in 2000, area code 321 was used as an overlay for  the [[Orlando, Florida|Orlando]] area. The code refers to the [[countdown]] sequence which has launched many [[spacecraft]] from [[Cape Canaveral]].<ref>{{cite news | title=3-2-1, Call Cape Canaveral |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1999/11/23/science/3-2-1-call-cape-canaveral.html | date=1999-11-23 | work=[[The New York Times]] |at=Section F, page 6| access-date=March 2, 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Mehta |first=Stephanie N. |title=The Kennedy Space Center Acquires A New Area Code: 3-2-1, as in Blast Off |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB91992421914317000 |newspaper=[[The Wall Street Journal]] |date=1999-02-26 |url-access=subscription}}</ref><ref>{{YouTube|id=zQwlNZ2exDU|title="Phone phreaking, DMCA and Hacking. An interview with Cheshire Catalyst July 2000"|t=31m9s}}</ref>

321 was used in Orlando area with an overlay [[area code 407]] and exception for a small portion of [[Volusia County]] that includes [[Deltona, Florida|Deltona]] which was in 407 at the time (it is now in [[area code 386|386]]). However, no 321 numbers were issued in the 407 area from 2003 until 2015, when 321 numbers were issued for cell phones in [[Osceola County, Florida|Osceola]], [[Orange County, Florida|Orange]], and [[Seminole County, Florida|Seminole]] counties due to high demand. With the 407/689 overlay, 321 remains frozen in the Orlando area with new 321 numbers again being assigned only in Brevard County.
 
Area code 321 is also the NPA used for SatCom Satellite Phone units.<ref>{{cite web |title=About Us |url=https://satcomdirect.com/ |publisher=Satcom Direct }} All such calls go through the service's [[Melbourne, Florida|Melbourne]] data center. (The company headquarters are in Melbourne.)</ref> Harris/Caprock Corporation has maritime satellite calls going through its corporate call center in Melbourne.

This area code contains numbers using the [[central office code]] 988 (e.g. {{not a typo|988-0199}}), which could have created conflicts given the designation of 988 as a three-digit code for the [[National Suicide Prevention Lifeline]]. As a result, in 2020, the [[Federal Communications Commission]] ordered a total of 82 area codes, including 321, to transition to [[ten-digit dialing]] for customers in the 321-only area not overlaid by 407. Per the timeline set by the [[North American Numbering Plan]] Administrator, [[permissive dialing]] began on April 24, 2021, and 10-digit dialing was required on October 24, 2021.<ref name="pl556">{{cite web|url=https://nationalnanpa.com/pdf/PL_556.pdf|date=January 8, 2021|publisher=NANPA|title=Transition to 10-digit dialing (for 988 as 3-digit access to National Suicide Prevention Hotline)|accessdate=March 9, 2021}}</ref>

==See also==
{{Portal|Florida}}
*[[List of Florida area codes]]
*[[List of NANP area codes]]
*[[North American Numbering Plan]]

==References==
<references/>

==External links==
{{Area code footer|Map=FL}}
*[http://www.sprint.com/areacodes/florida/history.html  Florida's Area Code History]
*[http://cheshirecatalyst.com/321.html ''How I Got My Own Area Code'' by Richard Cheshire, "The Cheshire Catalyst"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050828020645/http://cheshirecatalyst.com/321.html |date=2005-08-28 }}
{{Area code box | Width=65%|State = FL
 | This = area code 321 (standalone)
 | N = [[area code 386|386]]
 | S = [[area code 772|772]]
 | E = [[Atlantic Ocean]]
 | W = [[area codes 407 and 689|407/689/part of 321]]
}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Area Code 321}}
[[Category:Area codes in the United States|321]]
[[Category:Area codes in Florida|321]]
[[Category:Brevard County, Florida]]
[[Category:Telecommunications-related introductions in 1999]]
[[Category:1999 establishments in Florida]]


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{{SeminoleCountyFL-geo-stub}}
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