WASHINGTON-A recently released Federal Communications Commission order now prohibits states from singling out wireless carriers for service- or technology-specific area code overlays.
States will be able to institute all-services overlays only if 10-digit dialing is mandated for all local calls affected by an area-code change and only if at least one central office code in the existing area is provided to “every entity authorized to provide local exchange service in that area, including commercial mobile radio service providers.”
Wireless carriers in numerous states-most recently in Texas-have been subject to such discrimination as the demand for phone numbers increases due to the growing popularity of modems, fax machines, cellular phones and pagers; many cellular subscribers have been forced to give up their phone numbers when area-code overlays take effect. The commission has authorized states to determine where new area codes are needed and to resolve any area-code disputes following implementation.
“Specifically, we will permit all-services overlay plans only when they include: mandatory 10-digit local dialing by all customers between and within area codes in the area covered by the new area code [along with] availability to every existing telecommunications carrier-including CMRS providers-authorized to provide telephone exchange service, exchange access or paging service in the affected area code 90 days before the introduction of a new overlay area code of at least one NXX in the existing area code to be assigned during the 90-day period preceding the introduction of the overlay,” the order read in part.
States also can opt to engineer a geographical-split area-code plan, in which half the customers (including wireless subscribers) in a given service area would have to change their numbers if a number crunch occurred. While admitting that it will inconvenience wireless customers to have phones reprogrammed, “Requiring approximately half of the wireless customers and wireline customers to change telephone numbers in a geographic split is an equitable distribution of burdens,” the FCC explained.
Any party having a problem with this new state policy can petition the FCC for a declaratory ruling, a rulemaking or any other type of action. However, the FCC said it expects “that the need for our review of any state commissions’ action with respect to area-code relief should diminish as states gain more experience with the area-code relief process generally and with area-code overlays in particular.”
The Aug. 8 order also mandated local exchange carriers to offer to CMRS providers the same access to such services as company operators and directory assistance and/or listings as it would provide to itself.
LECs also will be prohibited from charging different “code-opening” fees for access to different phone numbers, because it could pose a barrier to entry. “We are explicitly extending this protectio*…*to paging carriers that are not providers of telephone exchange service or telephone toll service,” the commission wrote. “Paging carriers are increasingly competing with other CMRS providers, and they would be at an unfair competitive disadvantage if they alone could be charged discriminatory code-activation fees.”
