844 area code is the code serving Brevard County, Florida. It was assigned to the area after a successful petition to commemorate the Space Coast’s impact on the county. The code 3-2-1 resembles the countdown which launches the many spacecraft from Cape Canaveral. Part of 321 also overlays area code 407 in the Orlando area. This is currently the only code in North America that is both the overlay of one established area code, but also the primary code of another. Also this is also the only code currently used with SatCom Satellite Phone units.
Florida 321 code has been in service since 1999. It has 230 landlines and 87 wireless prefixes (exchanges) serviced by 44 carriers. It covers 4 counties, 387 ZIP codes, and 39 cities, including Melbourne, Palm Bay, Cocoa, Titusville, Merritt Island, Rockledge, Cocoa Beach, Satellite Beach, and Cape Canaveral. All these places belongs to Eastern Time Zone (ET).
On December 1998, after the September 1998 hearings on “407 Area Code Relief”, Florida PSC issued this order:
“Customer concerns also are extremely important to our decision. In his testimony, public witness Robert Osband suggested that we implement a split using a new code. He had searched the database of the NANPA for all the available codes, and he recommended that we implement the “321” area code to signify the countdown, fitting for Brevard County, where the Kennedy Space Center is located and commonly known as “the Space Coast.”
On 1999 February 10, the Florida PSC issues a Press Release on the Order that created the code 321.
From 1999 November 01, Permissive Dialing Period begins in Non-Overlay Areas, so this code completely replaced the code 407 in Brevard County only, allowing those residents to maintain 7-digit dialing. In the remaining 407 Area, the 321 Code will be an Overlay where residents will be required to have 10-digit dialing for all calls – local or long distance. Callers to Bravard County may use either 407 or 321 to reach their party during the Permissive Period. It is at this time that the public is informed to use the new code. Brevard County residents will need new stationery and business cards to reflect their new code – but have 11 months to make the transition.
On 1999 December 01, mandatory 10 digit dialing begins in overlay area only. 321 code began issuing numbers to users in the Overlay Area of Orange, Osceola, and Seminole counties. This means that people in the Overlay Area must use 10-digit dialing, since the number they are trying to reach might be assigned in either code, or both. Residents of the Overlay Area will keep their old telephone number, and will not need to change their stationery and business cards. Only newly issued telephone numbers will get numbers in the 321 code.