WASHINGTON-The Federal Communications Commission said California could change how it allocates numbers in the 310 and 909 area codes, but not statewide. California, which is facing a numbering shortage in the 310 and 909 area codes, wanted to make it easier to take numbers from phone companies not using them.
The California Public Utilities Commission “has not demonstrated that special circumstances warrant a deviation from the national rules for all California area codes or that raising the contamination threshold level in all California area codes is consistent with the public interest. We conclude, however, that increasing the contamination threshold for the 310 and 909 area codes is warranted under our waiver standard and will provide the California PUC with some additional time and flexibility to implement area-code relief in those area codes, which are listed in need of immediate relief,” said the FCC. “Raising the contamination level across the state is not a practical solution to the telephone shortage that exists in the 310 and 909 area codes. We have repeatedly emphasized that numbering resource optimization measures should not be used as a substitute for area-code relief.”
Last year, the California PUC requested raising the contamination level from 10 percent to 25 percent, which would have required carriers to give back more phone numbers so they could be made available to other carriers. The FCC said the California PUC had not shown it was necessary to raise the contamination levels statewide.
Today, 10 percent of the numbers in an exchange must be used for a carrier to keep the entire 10,000 numbers allocated to that exchange. California will now require carriers in the 310 and 909 area codes to give back numbers in an exchange if between 10 percent and 25 percent have been used.The state authority in numbering issues was bolstered by a separate statement by FCC Commissioner Michael Copps.
“When state commissions devise innovative ways to address local number crunches, we need to treat these proposals seriously and with the speed necessary to ensure their effectiveness,” wrote Copps. “I fear today’s decision is less than optimal, because it does not afford the experimental efforts of the California PUC the deference they deserve.”
While recognizing that states have a role to play in numbering decisions, FCC Commissioner Kathleen Abernathy said she does not believe that raising the contamination level would help the number shortage in the 909 and 310 area codes.
“The costs associated with increasing the contamination threshold are considerable, while the benefits are negligible. Nevertheless, in light of the impending numbering crisis in the 310 and 909 area codes, I would have been willing to grant the requested increase in the contamination threshold in those area codes-if it were conditioned on prompt implementation of area-code relief. While area-code splits and overlays may be unpopular in the short term, independent experts have projected that the 310 and 909 area codes will exhaust by the end of this year, making such action not only necessary, but urgently so. Raising the contamination threshold is a Band-Aid that, according to the North American Numbering Council, will extend the life of those area codes by only one to two months. Accordingly, I cannot support a decision that fails to include any assurance of more meaningful relief. When the inevitable train wreck occurs, the FCC unfortunately will bear part of the blame,” wrote Abernathy.
