281
Area code
TX
United States geographic area code, in service since 1996-11-02. Part of the 281/346/621/713/832 overlay complex — ten-digit dialing required.
Statusin service
Introduced1996-11-02
JurisdictionTX, US
Local dialing10D
Time zoneCentral
Last verified2026-09-17
Utilization 101% of assignable prefixes assigned
As of 09/17/2026
0%800 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 2001-04-27, most recent 2026-02-06.
Area codes serve rate-center geographies, not municipal boundaries. “TX” identifies the jurisdiction, not an exact city footprint.
Top assignees
Ranked by assigned prefixes · initial assignee ≠ current carrier| Rank | Assignee | Prefixes | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | SOUTHWESTERN BELL | 283 | 35.4% |
| 02 | CELLCO PARTNERSHIP DBA VERIZON WIRELESS - TX | 66 | 8.3% |
| 03 | FRONTIER SOUTHWEST INC DBA FRONTIER COMM OF TEXAS | 57 | 7.1% |
| 04 | NEW CINGULAR WIRELESS PCS, LLC - IL | 50 | 6.3% |
| 05 | WINDSTREAM SUGAR LAND, LLC | 38 | 4.8% |
| 06 | ONVOY, LLC - TX | 32 | 4% |
| 07 | MCIMETRO ACCESS TRANSMISSION SERVICES LLC - TX | 31 | 3.9% |
| 08 | LEVEL 3 COMMUNICATIONS, LLC - TX | 29 | 3.6% |
| 09 | LEVEL 3 OF TELECOM OF TEXAS, LLC - TX | 26 | 3.3% |
| 10 | GRANDE COMMUNICATIONS NETWORKS, INC. - TX | 24 | 3% |
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- 2023-12-06 NPA 621 to Overlay NPA 281/346/713/832 (Texas)
- 2013-05-30 NPA 346 to Overlay NPAs 281/713/832 (Texas)
- 1996-11-02Area code 281 entered service (created from 713).
Planning letters & orders
Primary documents| Date | Document | Subject |
|---|---|---|
| 2023-12-06 | PL-623 ↗ | NPA 621 to Overlay NPA 281/346/713/832 (Texas) |
| 1996-08-05 | PL-006 ↗ | NANP-Split of 713 (Texas) Numbering Plan Area (NPA) |