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Area code 978

Area code 978 serves Massachusetts, including Lawrence, Lowell and Billerica (Eastern time). It has been in service since September 1, 1997 and shares its area with 351.

Numbers starting with 978 drew 1,140 reports to the FTC from Aug 14, 2026 to Nov 11, 2026 and 1,349 complaints to the FCC since November 2023. The number on your screen can be faked, so a 978 number proves nothing about where a call came from.

Location
Massachusetts(springfield, MA Metropolitan Statistical Area) and (worcester, MA-CT Metropolitan Statistical Area)
Time zone
Eastern
In service since
September 1, 1997Created from 508
Overlay
Same area as 351
Local calls
Dial 10 digitsArea code needed, even next door
Exchanges in use
773 of 792held by 30 carriers

Complaints about 978 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 978. These are counts of what people reported; the agencies do not verify them.

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

1,140

FCC complaints since November 2023

1,349

Different 978 numbers reported

2,254

FCC complaints naming a 978 number, by month

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

Show as a table
MonthComplaints
November 202366
December 202339
January 202452
February 202454
March 202449
April 202441
May 202435
June 202448
July 202457
August 202428
September 202442
October 202454
November 202436
December 202436
January 202573
February 202540
March 202538
April 202532
May 202538
June 202539
July 202535
August 202548
September 202527
October 20250
November 20256
December 202521
January 202638
February 202627
March 202638
April 202623
May 202626
June 202634
July 202628
August 202625
September 202631
October 202631

What people said 978 calls were about

Subjects picked in FTC reports, August 14, 2026 to November 11, 2026. 825 of 1,140 reports were robocalls.

Show as a table
SubjectReports
Other452
Reducing your debt (credit cards, mortgage, student loans)282
Calls pretending to be government, businesses, or family and friends146
Dropped call or no message78
Medical and prescriptions45
Home improvement and cleaning17

Most reported 978 numbers

Numbers with at least five reports from three or more places in the last twelve months. Many of them are likely spoofed.

Places served by 978

NANPA lists 58 rate centers for 978. 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.
  • Lawrence81
  • Lowell81
  • Billerica38
  • Concord30
  • Peabody30
  • Andover26
  • Danvers26
  • Haverhill26
  • Salem25
  • Wilmington25
  • Beverly24
  • Fitchburg24
  • Acton22
  • Leominster21
  • Maynard18
  • Newburyport16
  • Westford16
  • Sudbury14
  • Gloucester13
  • Littleton13
  • Hudson12
  • Ayer10
  • Gardner10
  • North Reading10
Show all 58 rate centers

Groton, Ipswich, Topsfield, Athol, Clinton, Templeton, Townsend, West Newbury, Amesbury, Hamilton, Tyngsboro, Barre, Bolton, Orange, Petersham, Sterling, Ashburnham, Berlin, Georgetown, Manchester, Pepperell, Princeton, Rockport, Rowley, Westminster, Athol Franklin County, Essex, Harvard, Lunenburg, Shirley, Winchendon, Ashby, Hubbardston, Merrimac.

Phone companies holding 978 exchanges

Each exchange (the three digits after the area code) is assigned to one carrier. 80% 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 30 carriers

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

Show as a table
Carrier (legal name)Exchanges
Verizon New England Inc.214
Paetec Itel, LLC90
Level 3 Communications, LLC - MA86
Mcimetro Access Transmission Services LLC71
Cellco Partnership dba Verizon Wireless - MA59
Tc Systems, Inc.39
Omnipoint Miami E License, LLC36
Bandwidth.com CLEC, LLC - MA32

When today's 978 exchanges were assigned

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

Show as a table
YearExchanges
200183
200237
20033
20042
20053
20063
20071
20083
20103
20115
20123
20136
20144
20155
201613
20174
20184
20191
20232
20251
20261

Check a 978 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 Massachusetts

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