779
Area code
IL
United States geographic area code, in service since 2007-03-17. Part of the 779/815 overlay complex — ten-digit dialing required.
Statusin service
Introduced2007-03-17
JurisdictionIL, US
Local dialing1+10D
Time zoneCentral
Last verified2026-09-17
Utilization 46% of assignable prefixes assigned
As of 09/17/2026
0%364 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 2006-11-13, most recent 2026-09-15.
Area codes serve rate-center geographies, not municipal boundaries. “IL” identifies the jurisdiction, not an exact city footprint.
Top assignees
Ranked by assigned prefixes · initial assignee ≠ current carrier| Rank | Assignee | Prefixes | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | ONVOY, LLC | 48 | 13.2% |
| 02 | NEW CINGULAR WIRELESS PCS, LLC - IL | 43 | 11.8% |
| 03 | STRATUS NETWORKS | 35 | 9.6% |
| 04 | T-MOBILE USA, INC. | 25 | 6.9% |
| 05 | FRACTEL, LLC | 24 | 6.6% |
| 06 | CELLCO PARTNERSHIP DBA VERIZON WIRELESS - IL | 22 | 6% |
| 07 | BANDWIDTH.COM CLEC, LLC - IL | 16 | 4.4% |
| 08 | TON80 COMMUNICATIONS, LLC | 13 | 3.6% |
| 09 | UNITED STATES CELLULAR - IL | 10 | 2.7% |
| 10 | PEERLESS NETWORK OF ILLINOIS, LLC - IL | 9 | 2.5% |
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- 2006-05-15 NPA 779 to Overlay NPA 815 (Illinois)
- 2007-03-17Area code 779 entered service (created from 815).
Planning letters & orders
Primary documents| Date | Document | Subject |
|---|---|---|
| 2006-05-15 | PL-354 ↗ | NPA 779 to Overlay NPA 815 (Illinois) |