CPUC REPORTS FOUR MILLION PHONE NUMBERS
REMAIN IN EACH

415, 510, 818 AND 909 AREA CODES

The California Public Utilities Commission's (CPUC) Telecommunications Division reported today that approximately half of the total telephone numbers remain unused in the 415, 510, 818 and 909 area codes in California. The four reports, part of a massive CPUC analysis of phone number use in all California area codes, show that each of these area codes has considerable room for growth, resulting in no need for these area codes to be split or overlaid. An overlay is where two area codes serve the same area.

Each area code contains almost eight million numbers. The studies found that between 3.9 million and 4.3 million phone numbers remain unused in each of the four area codes, as shown below:

 

Unused Numbers Held By	415	510	818	909
Set Aside by CPUC for pooling and lottery	1.0 million	1.5 million	1.2 million	850,000
Wireline Companies /1	2.1 million	1.9 million	1.8 million	2.2 million
Wireless Companies	700,000	864,000	834,000	830,000
Total Unused Numbers /2	3.9 million	4.3 million	3.9 million	3.9 million

/1 "Wireline" refers to companies that use a land-based telephone network, such as Pacific Bell, or competitive local telephone companies.

/2 Numbers may not add up due to rounding.

The CPUC has acted to stem the proliferation of new area codes in California through aggressive conservation measures instituted this year. Those measures include assigning numbers to companies in blocks of 1,000 instead of the traditional 10,000 (known as "number pooling"), and establishing rules that require companies to use the numbers they already have more efficiently. Of the total unused numbers in each area code, the phone numbers set aside by the CPUC for number pooling can be allocated today to local phone companies needing new numbers to serve their customers.

The number conservation benefits from pooling have been dramatic. The pool has satisfied the phone number needs of all companies participating in the pool without needing to use any new prefixes.

The Telecommunications Division's reports recommend several further actions the CPUC, Federal Communications Commission (FCC), and telephone companies could take to use numbers more efficiently. Currently, companies donate to the number pool only those "blocks" of 1,000 numbers that have fewer than ten percent of numbers in use. Existing FCC rules also allow wireless companies to voluntarily join wireline companies in participating in the number pool (until November 2002 when participation becomes mandatory). The reports suggest that California number pooling efforts would be even more effective if 1) companies were required to donate "blocks" of 1,000 numbers that are more than ten percent used, and 2) wireless carriers were required to participate now in number pooling rather than receive numbers through a lottery.

The reports reiterate the CPUC's request that the FCC allow California to implement technology-specific overlays. That option could ensure that consumers' existing numbers are left intact, while meeting the demands of companies offering wireless and other technologies that represent the fastest-growing demand on California's numbering resources.

The reports also found that numerous telecommunications companies have failed to submit their number use data and recommend that those carriers be refused additional numbers and be assessed penalties for noncompliance.

As the report concludes, a key factor driving the need for new area codes is the traditional inefficient number allocation methods used across the nation. Historically, when a telephone company needed telephone numbers to serve its customers, it had to obtain a whole prefix containing 10,000 telephone numbers, regardless of how many numbers the company actually needed.

Today, more than 200 local phone companies operate in California. This increased competition and increased use of pagers, faxes, cellular phones and other technologies creates an artificial demand for telephone numbers, which in turn fuels the demand to add new area codes. Creating new area codes imposes significant costs and burdens on consumers whose numbers are changed because letterhead and business materials must be reprinted and the new numbers must be reprogrammed into all equipment.

The four reports issued today follow the CPUC Telecommunications Division's first area code report issued for the 310 area code last March. The Division expects to complete its analysis of all California area codes next year.

The 415, 510, 818 and 909 number utilization reports will be posted on the PUC website today at www.cpuc.ca.gov.

More information about the four area codes follows:

The 415 Area Code

One of the first three area codes created in California in 1947, the 415 area code originally covered all of central California. Today, the 415 area code encompasses only San Francisco and portions of Marin County. The area originally covered by the 415 area code now includes areas covered by the 209, 408, 510, 559, 650 831, and 925.

In response to the notice by the North American Numbering Plan Administrator (NANPA) - which monitors area code growth nationwide - to the CPUC that the 415 was running out of numbers, the CPUC approved an area code overlay for 415 in April, 1999. The new area code overlay was scheduled to be implemented in October 2000. However, in response to overwhelming consumer concern about area code proliferation, the CPUC suspended all previously approved overlays, including the 415, in December 1999.

The CPUC began number pooling in 415 on July 29, 2000. Prior to pooling, 190,000 new numbers would have been needed to satisfy demand. With pooling, demand for numbers in the pool has been only 20 percent of what was expected.

The 510 Area Code

The 510 area code was formed in 1991, splitting off the East Bay, Alameda, and Contra Costa Counties from the 415 area code which at that time covered most of the San Francisco Bay Area. In 1998, Contra Costa and Eastern Alameda Counties were split off from the 510 area code, forming the 925 area code.

Despite introduction of the 510 area code in 1998 to add numbers for customers in the East Bay, NANPA determined in the spring of 1998 that the 510 area code was running short of numbers. In response, the CPUC approved an area code overlay in April 1999. In December 1999, the CPUC suspended all overlays previously approved, including the overlay of the 510 area code scheduled to take effect in June, 1999.

The 818 Area Code

The 818 area code was split from the 213 area code in 1984. Then in June 1997, the 818 area code itself was split with creation of the 626 area code. The current 818 area code serves the San Fernando Valley in Southern California, while the 626 serves the San Gabriel Valley.

Despite the introduction of another area code in 1997 to provide more numbers for customers in the 818 area code, NANPA decided in early 1998 that the 818 area code needed still more numbers. In October 1999, the CPUC ordered implementation of a variety of measures to conserve numbers in the 818 area code. In the same decision, the CPUC adopted a geographic split as a back-up area code plan. At the same time, the CPUC deferred an implementation date until and unless it could be determined that number conservation measures have failed to provide enough numbers to facilitate competition in the 818 area code.

The 909 Area Code

The 909 area code, which covers communities in Riverside, San Bernardino, and Los Angeles Counties, was created in 1992 when it was split from the 714 area code.

Despite the fact that the 909 area code is only eight years old, NANPA determined in early 1998 that the 909 area code was running short of numbers and needed another area code. In response, in March, 1999, the PUC approved a two-phase change: a geographic split and subsequent overlay. The split was scheduled to be implemented in December 2000, while the overlay was scheduled for February 2001. However, responding to consumer concern about the 310 overlay, in December 1999, the CPUC suspended all new area code plans, including the scheduled 909 split and subsequent overlay.