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Area code 656

Area code 656 serves Florida, including Tampa Central, Tampa North and Tampa East (Eastern time). It has been in service since February 22, 2022 and shares its area with 813.

Numbers starting with 656 drew 788 reports to the FTC from Aug 14, 2026 to Nov 11, 2026 and 176 complaints to the FCC since November 2023. The number on your screen can be faked, so a 656 number proves nothing about where a call came from.

Location
FloridaTampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL Metropolitan Statistical Area
Time zone
Eastern
In service since
February 22, 2022Created from 813
Overlay
Same area as 813
Local calls
Dial 10 digitsArea code needed, even next door
Exchanges in use
98 of 792held by 23 carriers
Projected to run out
1Q 2060NANPA forecast 2026.2

Complaints about 656 numbers

Reports where the number on the consumer's caller ID (or, for the FCC, the number the caller asked them to call back) starts with 656. These are counts of what people reported; the agencies do not verify them.

FTC reports, Aug 14, 2026 to Nov 11, 2026

788

FCC complaints since November 2023

176

Different 656 numbers reported

860

FCC complaints naming a 656 number, by month

November 2023 to October 2026. Source: FCC Consumer Complaints Data.

Show as a table
MonthComplaints
November 20232
December 20236
January 20244
February 20240
March 20248
April 20243
May 20243
June 20241
July 20243
August 20242
September 20241
October 20240
November 20242
December 20240
January 20254
February 20251
March 20252
April 20256
May 20257
June 20257
July 20255
August 20256
September 20254
October 20250
November 20251
December 20251
January 20264
February 20263
March 20264
April 20265
May 20262
June 20266
July 202614
August 20267
September 202622
October 202620

What people said 656 calls were about

Subjects picked in FTC reports, August 14, 2026 to November 11, 2026. 590 of 788 reports were robocalls.

Show as a table
SubjectReports
Reducing your debt (credit cards, mortgage, student loans)323
Other268
Calls pretending to be government, businesses, or family and friends73
Medical and prescriptions40
Dropped call or no message35
Home improvement and cleaning7

Places served by 656

NANPA lists 7 rate centers for 656. A rate center is the town or district a block of numbers is tied to for billing; sorted here by how many exchanges each holds.
  • Tampa Central43
  • Tampa North14
  • Tampa East9
  • Zephyrhills9
  • Tampa South8
  • Tampa West8
  • Plant City7

Phone companies holding 656 exchanges

Each exchange (the three digits after the area code) is assigned to one carrier. 98% of these exchanges are pooled: their numbers are handed out in blocks of 1,000 to other carriers, so the holder below is not always the company serving a given number.

Exchanges held, top 8 of 23 carriers

NANPA central office code assignments, file of November 11, 2026.

Show as a table
Carrier (legal name)Exchanges
Onvoy, LLC - FL27
Cellco Partnership dba Verizon Wireless - FL12
Fractel, LLC12
New Cingular Wireless PCS, LLC - GA11
Aerial Communications, Inc.8
IP Horizon LLC4
Bandwidth.com CLEC, LLC - FL2
Five9, Inc.2

When today's 656 exchanges were assigned

Exchanges still assigned, by year of assignment. Exchanges returned since are not counted.

Show as a table
YearExchanges
20217
202217
202319
202418
202528
20266

Check a 656 number

A check shows the carrier and rate center of the number's exchange and every FTC and FCC report about that exact number. Why the number on screen can be fake.

Other area codes in Florida

NANPA area code database and central office code file of November 11, 2026; FCC complaints November 1, 2023 to November 11, 2026; FTC reports August 14, 2026 to November 11, 2026. How the data is used.

Official sources (7)Show