View source for Area code 808

{{Short description|Telephone area code for Hawaii}}
[[File:USA telephone area code map - Hawaii.svg|250px|right]]

'''Area code 808''' is a telephone [[area code]] in the [[North American Numbering Plan]] (NANP) for the [[Hawaiian Islands]], comprising the windward and the leeward islands. The area code also serves [[Wake Island]] in the western Pacific Ocean. The code was assigned on August 8, 1957,{{citation needed|date=March 2023}} about two years before the statehood of [[Hawaii]].

Slightly over 1.4 million people live in Hawaii. Despite the state's rapid growth, and the proliferation of mobile numbers (particularly in [[Oahu]], which includes [[City and County of Honolulu|Honolulu]]), a single area code is projected to be enough to serve the state until at least the third quarter of 2035.<ref>North American Numbering Plan Administrator (NANPA) (October 2021). ''[https://www.nationalnanpa.com/reports/October%202021%20NPA%20Exhaust%20Analysis.pdf October 2021 NPA Exhaust Analysis],'' viewed 18 November 2021.</ref>

Prior to October 2021, area code 808 had telephone numbers assigned for the [[central office code]] 988. In 2020, ''988'' was designated as a nationwide three-digit dialing code for the [[National Suicide Prevention Lifeline]]. This created a conflict for Hawaii's exchanges, all of which permitted [[seven-digit dialing]]. Therefore, area code 808 transitioned to [[ten-digit dialing]] on October 24, 2021.<ref name="pl556">{{cite web|url=https://nationalnanpa.com/pdf/PL_556.pdf|date=January 8, 2021|publisher=North American Numbering Plan Administrator |title=Transition to 10-digit dialing (for 988 as 3-digit access to National Suicide Prevention Hotline)|access-date=March 9, 2021}}</ref>

[[Marcus Mariota]], quarterback for the Las Vegas Raiders football team and 2014 [[Heisman Trophy]] winner, had a special face mask honoring the 808 area code while playing with the University of Oregon.<ref>{{Cite web| url=http://uniformcritics.com/swag/marcus-mariotas-facemask/ |last= Tilson|first= Skye|date= 12 December 2014 |website= Uniform Critics|title= Marcus Mariota's Facemask | access-date=7 February 2015}}</ref>

The 808 area code is sometimes used by [[Scam|telephone scammers]] with the intent of confusing the receiver of the call into thinking that it is an [[800 area code]] due to their similar appearance.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Gutierrez |first=Ben |title=Scammers use Hawaii area code to get you to pick up the phone |url=https://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/story/37115488/scammers-now-using-808-area-code-to-make-you-pick-up-the-phone |access-date=2023-03-30 |website=www.hawaiinewsnow.com |date=21 December 2017 |language=en}}</ref>

==See also==
* [[Ate-Oh-Ate]], restaurant in Portland, Oregon, named after the area code
* [[List of North American Numbering Plan area codes]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

== External links ==
{{Area code footer|Map=HI}}

{{Area code box| State = HI | This = 808 
| N = [[Area code 907|907]], [[Pacific Ocean]]
| S = [[area code 684|684]], Pacific Ocean
| E = Pacific Ocean, [[area codes 310 and 424|310/424]], [[area codes 415 and 628|415/628]], [[area codes 619 and 858|619/858]], [[area code 650|650]], [[area codes 714 and 657|714/657]], [[area codes 805 and 820|805/820]], [[area code 831|831]], [[area code 949|949]]
| W = [[area code 670|670]], [[area code 671|671]], Pacific Ocean
| S1=AK|S2=CA|S3=Guam|S4=Northern Mariana Islands|S5=American Samoa}}

{{Oceania topic|Telephone numbers in}}
{{Area code list}}

[[Category:Area codes in the United States|808]]
[[Category:Area codes in Hawaii|808]]
[[Category:Telecommunications-related introductions in 1959]]
[[Category:Communications in Hawaii]]


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