601
Area code
MS
United States geographic area code, in service since 1947-01-01. Part of the 601/769 overlay complex — ten-digit dialing required.
Statusin service
Introduced1947-01-01
JurisdictionMS, 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 2001-01-03, most recent 2026-08-11.
Area codes serve rate-center geographies, not municipal boundaries. “MS” 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 | 242 | 30.3% |
| 02 | NEW CINGULAR WIRELESS PCS, LLC - GA | 79 | 9.9% |
| 03 | TELEPAK NETWORKS, INC. - MS | 75 | 9.4% |
| 04 | CELLCO PARTNERSHIP DBA VERIZON WIRELESS - MS | 74 | 9.3% |
| 05 | LEVEL 3 COMMUNICATIONS, LLC - MS | 67 | 8.4% |
| 06 | CELLULAR SOUTH, INC. | 39 | 4.9% |
| 07 | BANDWIDTH.COM CLEC, LLC - MS | 31 | 3.9% |
| 08 | PAETEC ITEL, LLC | 28 | 3.5% |
| 09 | METROPCS, INC. | 21 | 2.6% |
| 10 | POWERTEL MEMPHIS LICENSES, INC. | 17 | 2.1% |
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- 2004-04-20 NPA 769 to Overlay NPA 601 (Mississippi)
- 1947-01-01Area code 601 entered service.
Planning letters & orders
Primary documents| Date | Document | Subject |
|---|---|---|
| 2004-04-20 | PL-335 ↗ | NPA 769 to Overlay NPA 601 (Mississippi) |