231
Area code

MI

United States geographic area code, in service since 1999-06-05.

Split from 616.

Statusin service
Introduced1999-06-05
JurisdictionMI, US
Local dialing7D
Time zoneEastern
Last verified2026-09-17
Utilization 75.3% of assignable prefixes assigned As of 09/17/2026
0%596 of ~792 assignable NXX values (200–999 excl. N11)100%

Prefix-level assignment does not equal number-level exhaustion; thousands-block pooling extends capacity. First assignment on record 2001-01-09, most recent 2026-03-19.

Area codes serve rate-center geographies, not municipal boundaries. “MI” identifies the jurisdiction, not an exact city footprint.

Top assignees

Ranked by assigned prefixes · initial assignee ≠ current carrier
Largest initial assignees in area code 231
RankAssigneePrefixesShare
01 NEW CINGULAR WIRELESS PCS, LLC - IL 72 12.1%
02 MICHIGAN BELL TEL CO 72 12.1%
03 FRONTIER NORTH, INC. - MI 52 8.7%
04 ONVOY, LLCV - MI 49 8.2%
05 TELNET WORLDWIDE, INC. 43 7.2%
06 CELLCO PARTNERSHIP DBA VERIZON WIRELESS - MI 42 7%
07 123.NET, LLC 34 5.7%
08 OMNIPOINT COMMUNICATIONS MIDWEST OPERATIONS, LLC 28 4.7%
09 CHARTER IP ENABLED SERVICES, LLC 20 3.4%
10 LEVEL 3 COMMUNICATIONS, LLC - MI 19 3.2%

Important: these are initial assignees from NANPA CO-code records — the carrier a prefix was originally assigned to. Because of number portability, the current serving carrier of any individual number may differ.

Change history

Recorded events for this NPA
  • 1999-06-05Area code 231 entered service (created from 616).

Planning letters & orders

Primary documents
NANPA planning letters for area code 231
DateDocumentSubject
1999-03-11 PL-167 ↗ Geographic Split of 616 (Michigan) Numbering Plan Area (NPA)

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