# Area code 242

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{{Short description|Telephone area code of The Bahamas}}
{{distinguish|text=[+242](/source/%2B242) [country code](/source/List_of_country_calling_codes) for the [Republic of the Congo](/source/Republic_of_the_Congo)}}
'''Area code 242''' is the telephone [area code](/source/area_code) in the [North American Numbering Plan](/source/North_American_Numbering_Plan) (NANP) for [The Bahamas](/source/The_Bahamas). The area code was created on October 1, 1996, in a split of the Caribbean numbering plan area (NPA) with [area code 809](/source/area_code_809).<ref>{{cite web
|url=https://www.nanpa.com/sites/default/files/planning_letters/IL-95-11-009.pdf
|title=Information Letter 95-11-009
|publisher=NANPA/Bellcore
|date=1995-11-17
}}</ref>  A [permissive dialing](/source/permissive_dialing) period allowed the use of area code 809 until March 31, 1997.

When in The Bahamas, only the seven-digit number is required for local calls, but to call the Bahamas from other countries within the North American Numbering Plan, e.g., the [United States](/source/United_States), and [Canada](/source/Canada), the local number is prefixed with ''1'' and ''242''.

''242'' spells ''BHA'', an abbreviation of ''Bahamas'' on the alphanumeric telephone keypad.

==See also==
*[List of North American Numbering Plan area codes](/source/List_of_North_American_Numbering_Plan_area_codes)
*[Area codes in the Caribbean](/source/Area_codes_in_the_Caribbean)

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{Area code box
|State=Bahamas
| This=242 
| N= [Atlantic Ocean](/source/Atlantic_Ocean)
| S= [649](/source/area_code_649), [country code](/source/List_of_country_calling_codes) [+53](/source/%2B53) in [Cuba](/source/Cuba)
| E= [Atlantic Ocean](/source/Atlantic_Ocean)
| W= [305/786](/source/area_codes_305_and_786), [754/954](/source/area_codes_754_and_954), [561](/source/area_code_561)
| S1=FL|S2=Turks and Caicos Islands}}

{{Area code list}}
{{North America topic|Telephone numbers in}}

{{coord|24|15|N|76|00|W|display=title}}

242
Category:Communications in the Bahamas

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