318
Area code
LA
United States geographic area code, in service since 1957-01-01. Part of the 318/457 overlay complex — ten-digit dialing required.
Statusin service
Introduced1957-01-01
JurisdictionLA, US
Local dialing10D
Time zoneCentral
Last verified2026-09-17
Utilization 98.4% of assignable prefixes assigned
As of 09/17/2026
0%779 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 2026-09-01.
Area codes serve rate-center geographies, not municipal boundaries. “LA” identifies the jurisdiction, not an exact city footprint.
Top assignees
Ranked by assigned prefixes · initial assignee ≠ current carrier| Rank | Assignee | Prefixes | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | BELLSOUTH TELECOMM INC DBA SOUTH CENTRAL BELL TEL | 209 | 26.8% |
| 02 | NEW CINGULAR WIRELESS PCS, LLC - GA | 110 | 14.1% |
| 03 | CELLCO PARTNERSHIP DBA VERIZON WIRELESS - LA | 78 | 10% |
| 04 | ONVOY, LLC - LA | 55 | 7.1% |
| 05 | ELISKA WIRELESS VENTURES SUBSIDIARY I, LLC | 42 | 5.4% |
| 06 | LEVEL 3 COMMUNICATIONS, LLC - LA | 35 | 4.5% |
| 07 | BRIGHTSPEED OF LOUISIANA, LLC | 34 | 4.4% |
| 08 | TON80 COMMUNICATIONS, LLC | 23 | 3% |
| 09 | PAETEC ITEL, LLC | 18 | 2.3% |
| 10 | BANDWIDTH.COM CLEC, LLC - LA | 17 | 2.2% |
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- 2023-06-23 NPA 457 to Overlay NPA 318 (Louisiana)
- 1957-01-01Area code 318 entered service.
Planning letters & orders
Primary documents| Date | Document | Subject |
|---|---|---|
| 2023-06-23 | PL-617 ↗ | NPA 457 to Overlay NPA 318 (Louisiana) |
| 2000-09-19 | PL-240 ↗ | Urgent Reminder: Mandatory Dialing for Wireless Codes in the 337 NPA (Louisiana) |
| 1999-08-25 | PL-188 ↗ | NANP-Split of 318 Numbering Plan Area (NPA) in Louisiana; introduction of NPA 337 |