Area code 709 and 879

The first long-distance call from Newfoundland to Canada was made on January 10, 1939, by using a shortwave radio link operated by the Canadian Marconi Company in Montréal.

[1] After Newfoundland's Confederation with the Dominion of Canada was enacted in 1949, the first cross-province long-distance call was placed from St. John's to Port aux Basques in 1949.

[1] Newfoundland was added to area code 902, which already covered the three Maritime provinces, and which remains in use throughout Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island.

[2] Canadian direct-distance dial locations gradually increased over the next several years, beginning in 1958 with the country's largest cities, Toronto and Montreal.

The area codes served mostly for operator routing purposes until customer dialing of long-distance calls became common in the 1960s.