Area Code Change
In The Works

'Overlay' option would require
10-digit dialing within Tucson

By Alan D. Fischer
ARIZONA DAILY STAR

Arizona residents can expect to see a new telephone area code next year.

The 520 area code currently serving the state's callers outside the metro Phoenix area is running out of available number prefixes, said Heather Murphy, public information officer with the Arizona Corporation Commission. The area code's nearly 8 million phone numbers are being used up due to population growth and increased demand by competitive service providers, cellular phones, pagers, fax machines and Internet services, Murphy said.

So regulators are considering two proposals to make more numbers available - and they want public input on which one to use. The Corporation Commission, which will make the final decision, will hold a public comment and question session in Tucson on Nov 3. The session begins at 6:30 p.m. in Room 158 of the Arizona State Building, 400 W. Congress St.

The two options on the table are a geographic split or a number overlay.

Under the overlay plan, existing 520 users would retain their current area code, and new users would receive numbers with the new area code after available 520 numbers are exhausted. With an overlay, customers might have to juggle area codes if they add another phone line, a cell phone, or a fax or computer line.

Also, local calls would require 10-digit dialing - but no long- distance charge, Murphy said.

The geographic split would divide the 520 territory into two segments, with one - likely the metropolitan Tucson area - retaining the current number and the remainder of the current 520 area getting a new one.

The split would give about half of current 520 users a new area code. Calls across new area code boundaries and toll calls would require 10-digit dialing.

Murphy said telecom offi-cials are "split on the split. Some providers have lined up in support of the geographic plan, and others have lined up in support of the overlay."

Mark Genrich, Qwest Communications International Inc.'s public relations director for Arizona and New Mexico, said his company favors the overlay solution.

When the metro Phoenix area required new area codes in 1998, regulators first approved an overlay plan, then switched to a geographic split that added 480 and 623 to the existing 602 area code.

The 602 area code served the entire state until 1995, when a lack of available prefixes led the ACC to introduce the 520 code for the areas outside of metro Phoenix.

Bob Mayerfeld, who owns five Table Talk stores - three in Tucson and two in Phoenix - went through an area code change when the Phoenix area code was split up.

Based on his earlier experience, he predicts few if any problems when the 520 change occurs.

He said businesses will begin putting a 10-digit number in their ads, and customers will quickly adjust.

"It's amazing how easily they learn to remember the 10-digit numbers," Mayerfeld said. "We all adjust, even though it will probably annoy some people in the beginning."

Commissioner Bill Mundell said information gathered at the Tucson meeting will help the Corporation Commission make a decision.

"I have an open mind on the issue. That is the purpose of the public comment hearings, to listen to the people in the area," Mundell said. "I don't have a preference. I wasn't here (on the commission) when the prior overlay vs. geographic split was debated by the commission."

He said it is hard to predict exactly when the new area code will be in place. "We want to do it as soon as possible, but we want to make sure we have adequate input to make the decision."

ACC spokeswoman Murphy said the plan probably will be finalized early next year. A transition period, which will include "permissive" dialing where both area codes are valid, will precede the full implementation of the new area code by the end of next year, she said.

Mundell said it is likely the decision will be made by a newly constituted commission, since two of the three seats are up for grabs in the Nov. 7 general election.

Murphy said both area code options pose challenges for businesses.

With a geographic split, those subject to a new area code face the expense of reprinting materials like business cards, stationery and brochures, she said.

And with an overlay, some communications equipment would require reprogramming, and possibly new software, to handle the new 10-digit system, she said.

Murphy stressed that no matter which plan is approved, three-digit calls - like 911 for emergencies and 411 for directory assistance - will not change.

Local officials will not select the new area code number - that will be done by the North American Numbering Plan administrator, Murphy said.