Cloey Callahan is reporting for the Times Union the state Public Service Commission April 14, approved and ordered a plan to create an additional area code for all or portions of the following 10 counties: Columbia, Delaware, Dutchess, Greene, Orange, Putnam, Rockland, Sullivan, Ulster, and Westchester. The new area code is expected to be activated before June 2023, six months before numbers using the current 845 area code are expected to run out. Residents issued a new phone number around this time next year will likely be assigned a new three-digit network code. “As the economy continues to grow, and the need for more cellular service becomes apparent, there is a greater need for an additional telephone area code number,” said Public Service Commission Chair Rory M. Christian in a news release. Three public hearings were held on the matter in March. According to public documents, phone carriers AT&T, T-Mobile, and Verizon have indicated strong support for the new area code, stating it will “minimize inconvenience to consumers,” and that it is the “most practical and effective form of area code relief available.” For anyone with an 845 area code already, that number will remain the same and nothing will change. Read the full story in the Times Union.