Since the mid-1990s a few areas, namely US territories in the Pacific Ocean, joined the NANPA. I understand why they did this. The calls became "domestic" for billing purposes. I also imagine it made it a little easier for military personnel and make and receive calls to and from the mainland US (international dialing sometimes confuses Americans).
Later this year Sint Maarten is scheduled to abandon +599 for +1-721. We briefly touched on this here:
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I'm curious what drove this decision, particularly since the other half of the island is maintaining its own country code. Wouldn't a country want its own country code for national pride reasons? Was this perhaps done for tourism or business ties back to the US and Canada? Much of the Caribbean ties back to the original +1-809, but there are islands with their own country codes. Do any of them plan to join the NANPA?Sorry if this seems like an esoteric question. I got to thinking a few days ago when a waste of an area code it is for a country/territory with only a handful of exchanges.