Metro Atlanta

===Utilities===
The area is the world's largest toll-free calling zone spanning {{convert|7162|sqmi|km2|0}},<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.metroatlantachamber.com/macoc/business/img/alookatatlanta.pdf |title=A Look at Atlanta |date=May 2006 |publisher=Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce |pages=11 |access-date=2008-07-05 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080625032708/http://www.metroatlantachamber.com/macoc/business/img/alookatatlanta.pdf |archive-date=2008-06-25 |url-status=live }}</ref> has four active [[telephone]] [[telephone numbering plan|area codes]], and local calling extending into portions of two others. [[area code 404|404]], which originally covered all of northern [[Georgia (U.S. state)|Georgia]] until 1992, now covers mostly the area inside the [[Perimeter (Atlanta)|Perimeter]] (Interstate&nbsp;285). In 1995 the [[suburb]]s were put into [[area code 770|770]], requiring mandatory ten‑digit dialing even for local calls under [[Federal Communications Commission|FCC]]&nbsp;rules. This made Atlanta one of the US's first cities to employ [[ten-digit dialing]],<ref>{{cite web | publisher=[[North American Numbering Plan Administration]] | title=NPA Code Search for 770 | url=http://www.nanpa.com/nas/public/npa_query_step2.do;nanpaid=LhVJJmBMGz9hJz3jJyjBmsbVLqFQsqDRJ27GzchXgl0nyFPhMzGp!-30491381?method=displayNpa | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110604123547/http://www.nanpa.com/nas/public/npa_query_step2.do;nanpaid=LhVJJmBMGz9hJz3jJyjBmsbVLqFQsqDRJ27GzchXgl0nyFPhMzGp!-30491381?method=displayNpa | url-status=dead | archive-date=2011-06-04 | access-date=2009-04-15 }}</ref> which was begun by [[BellSouth]] the year before the Centennial [[1996 Olympic Games]]. 

In 1998, [[area code 678|678]] was overlaid onto both of the existing 404 and 770 area codes. [[Mobile phone]]s, originally only assigned to 404, may now have any local area code regardless of where in the region they were issued. [[Area code 470]], the newest area code, was overlaid with 404 and 770 in the same fashion as 678. The local calling area also includes portions of [[area code 706|706/762]] and a small area of [[area code 256|256]] in [[Alabama]] on the Georgia border.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.localcallingguide.com/lprefix.php?exch=032460&dir=1|title=Local prefixes|publisher=Localcallingguide.com|access-date=2008-07-05|archive-date=2011-07-21|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110721085651/http://www.localcallingguide.com/lprefix.php?exch=032460&dir=1|url-status=live}}</ref>

The city of Atlanta is the most wired city in the United States.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nbcnews.com/id/14733398|title=Atlanta is most wired city in the U.S.|date=8 September 2006|website=NBC News|access-date=15 October 2017|archive-date=16 October 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171016015256/http://www.nbcnews.com/id/14733398/|url-status=live}}</ref> Many residents access the internet on a high-speed broadband and/or WiFi connection. It is home to one of the world's largest [[fiber-optic]] bundles.

Major [[petroleum]] and [[natural gas]] [[pipeline transport|pipelines]] cross the area, running from the [[Gulf of Mexico|Gulf]] [[coast]], [[Texas]], and [[Louisiana]] to the population centers of the [[Northeastern United States|Northeastern U.S.]] This includes [[Colonial Pipeline]] and [[Plantation Pipeline]], both based in Alpharetta.

Metro Atlanta primarily uses [[natural gas]] for [[central heating]] and [[water heating|water heaters]], with the major exception of [[heat pump]]s in [[apartment]]s built during and since the 1980s. This is because winters are mild, and large apartment buildings usually require little energy to heat. Backup heat (also used during defrosting) is usually supplied by electric [[resistance heating]], though some homes have [[hybrid heat]]ing units which use gas backup when it is cold. Exurban homes may also use all-electric instead of gas, if [[gas main]]s have not been extended to an area.

[[Cooktop]]s and [[oven]]s are a mix of gas and electric, while gas [[clothes dryer]]s are rather rare. {{cns|date=February 2018|text=Nearly all homes have a [[fireplace]]}} with a manual-[[valve]] gas starter, and some are now equipped with permanent [[gas log]]s with [[electric fireplace|electric switch start]]. Some homes also have natural gas [[grill (cooking)|barbecue grills]], formerly sold at [[utility company]] stores.

[[Georgia Power]] is the main [[electric power]] company across the state and the metro area, beginning in 1902 as [[Georgia Railway and Power Company]], Atlanta's [[streetcar]] ([[tram|trolley]]) company’s. Several [[electric membership corporation]]s also serve the suburbs. These include the second-largest EMC in the nation<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.livingjackson.com/content/20061112/20061112business.shtml|title=Operation Round-Up|publisher=Living Jackson Magazine|access-date=2009-10-30|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090106134936/http://www.livingjackson.com/content/20061112/20061112business.shtml|archive-date=2009-01-06|url-status=dead}}</ref> in [[Jackson Electric Membership Corporation|Jackson EMC]], [[Cobb EMC]], Walton EMC, and [[Sawnee EMC]]. The city of Marietta operates its own electric utility, Marietta Power, under the Board of Lights & Water (BLW). It is also a member of the [[Municipal Electric Association of Georgia]] (MEAG).

[[Atlanta Gas Light]] is the [[natural gas]] utility for the region, and has been so for over a [[century]] and a half, since it installed [[gas lamp]]s in Atlanta in 1856. It operated as a [[regulated monopoly]] until November 1998, the after the state legislature voted in early 1997 to [[deregulate]] natural gas [[marketing]], and make customers choose among nearly 20 different marketers still selling the same AGL-[[wholesale]]d gas, such as Gas South, Infinite Energy, [[SCANA]] and [[Georgia Natural Gas]]. Most of the gas comes via [[pipeline transport|pipeline]] from [[Louisiana]].

Water is provided by various county and a few city systems. Several of these systems actually serve parts of neighboring counties and cities as well. The [[Cobb-Marietta Water Authority]] serves not only Cobb, but also parts of neighboring Paulding and Cherokee counties, for example. During [[drought]] or other [[emergency]], cities and counties can enact [[outdoor water-use restriction]]s, however some cross-[[jurisdiction]] [[water system]]s have also acted to put bans in place. In late September 2007, the state [[Environmental Protection Division]] of the [[Georgia Department of Natural Resources]], stepped-in with its first-ever ban, covering most of the northern half of the state. While [[surface water]] is by far the primary source of water for the region, the drought had many systems (and a few wealthy homeowners) drilling new [[water well|wells]] for [[ground water]], though the local [[water table]] is around {{convert|400|ft|m|-1}} deep, on [[average]].

[[sanitary sewer|Sewerage]] is also handled by the water utilities, but the various water and sewer networks may not conform to the same boundaries, resulting in [[interbasin water transfer]]s. This is for practical reasons, because the area is hilly and divided by several [[drainage divide|watersheds]], because the area has developed irregularly and erratically, and because [[water treatment]] plants are usually not near [[sewage treatment plant]]s. [[Septic tank]]s are still used in the older homes of some exurbs.