909 Area Code Starts Today in Inland Empire Region : Communications: The change affects Riverside, San Bernardino and eastern L.A. counties. Population and technology growth had used up most 714 numbers.

With the burgeoning Inland Empire quickly running out of phone numbers, a new area code--909--is debuting this morning in the greater Riverside, San Bernardino and Pomona metropolitan areas.

At 12:01 a.m., the new code will begin replacing the 714 area code for residents and businesses in western and central Riverside and San Bernardino counties and eastern Los Angeles County.

The split--which brings to a record 13 the number of area codes serving California--is necessary due to population growth and to the proliferation of pagers, car phones, computer modems, fax machines and automated bank tellers.

“An area code can handle about 7.2 million telephone lines and right now, in 714, it’s at about 6.2 million,” said GTE spokesman Mike Murray. “It’s mandatory we split now or we’ll run out of numbers.”

For the next nine months, customers seeking to reach phone numbers covered by the new area code can dial either 909 or 714. But after Aug. 14, the new area code must be dialed or a recorded message will be heard instructing the caller to redial using the proper area code.

Among the cities covered by the 909 code--in addition to Riverside, San Bernardino and Pomona--are Diamond Bar, San Dimas, Ontario, Claremont, Big Bear Lake, Beaumont, Hemet, Colton, Walnut, Corona and Temecula.

The 714 area code will continue to serve Orange County, the communities of Carbon Canyon and Sleepy Hollow in southwestern San Bernardino County and parts of La Mirada in Los Angeles County.

Palm Springs, Needles and other communities in eastern Riverside and San Bernardino counties will remain in the 619 area code.

At its inception, the 909 area code will have 2.75 million users and the 714 area code will drop to 3.5 million users.

“We anticipate with continuing growth of population and technology that 714 will now last 12 more years with the split, and 909 another 25 years,” Murray said.

The 909 code is the third new code to be introduced in California in the past two years.

Large portions of western and southern Los Angeles County were broken off from the 213 area code to form the 310 area code earlier this year. Last year, the 415 area code that served much of the San Francisco Bay Area for decades was split in two, with East Bay customers assigned the 510 area code.

New Area Code

Starting today, the new area code 909 will serve western and central Riverside and San Bernardino counties and eastern Los Angeles County. Cities covered by the 909 code:

Pomona, Ontario, San Bernardino, Riverside, Big Bear, Corona, Moreno Valley, Banning, Hemet, Lake Elsinore and Temecula.