859
Area code
Statusin service
Introduced2000-04-01
JurisdictionKY, US
Local dialing10D
Time zoneEastern
Last verified2026-09-17
Utilization 72.9% of assignable prefixes assigned
As of 09/17/2026
0%577 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 2001-01-07, most recent 2026-09-03.
Area codes serve rate-center geographies, not municipal boundaries. “KY” identifies the jurisdiction, not an exact city footprint.
Top assignees
Ranked by assigned prefixes · initial assignee ≠ current carrier| Rank | Assignee | Prefixes | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | WINDSTREAM KENTUCKY EAST, INC. - LEXINGTON | 77 | 13.3% |
| 02 | CINCINNATI BELL | 57 | 9.9% |
| 03 | CELLCO PARTNERSHIP DBA VERIZON WIRELESS - KY | 54 | 9.4% |
| 04 | NEW CINGULAR WIRELESS PCS, LLC - GA | 53 | 9.2% |
| 05 | ONVOY, LLC - KY | 51 | 8.8% |
| 06 | LEVEL 3 COMMUNICATIONS, LLC - KY | 49 | 8.5% |
| 07 | BELLSOUTH TELECOMM INC DBA SOUTH CENTRAL BELL TEL | 41 | 7.1% |
| 08 | PAETEC ITEL, LLC | 29 | 5% |
| 09 | POWERTEL KENTUCKY LICENSES, INC. | 26 | 4.5% |
| 10 | T-MOBILE USA, INC. | 16 | 2.8% |
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- 2000-04-01Area code 859 entered service (created from 606).
Planning letters & orders
Primary documents| Date | Document | Subject |
|---|---|---|
| 2021-01-08 | PL-556 ↗ | Transition to 10-digit dialing (for 988 as 3-digit access to National Suicide Prevention Lifeline) – supersedes PL-544 |
| 2020-08-17 | PL-544 ↗ | Transition to 10-digit dialing (for 988 as 3-digit access to National Suicide Prevention Hotline |
| 1999-12-29 | PL-205 ↗ | 606 NPA Split, Creating 859 NPA - Kentucky |