TRP/t94 3/30/2001

BEFORE THE PUBLIC UTILITIES COMMISSION OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA

Order Instituting Rulemaking on the Commission's Own Motion into Competition for Local Exchange Service.	Rulemaking 95-04-043 (Filed April 26, 1995)
Order Instituting Investigation on the Commission's Own Motion into Competition for Local Exchange Service.	Investigation 95-04-044 (Filed April 26, 1995)

ADMINISTRATIVE LAW JUDGE'S RULING SOLICITING COMMENTS

ON ADJUSTING IMPLEMENTATION INTERVALS

FOR 310 NPA RELIEF PLAN SET FORTH IN D.00-09-073

This ruling provides parties an opportunity to comment concerning proposed revisions in the scheduled duration of implementation for the geographic split of the 310 numbering plan area (NPA) as adopted in Decision (D.)00-09-073 (Decision). The Decision called for a subsequent Commission decision in order to activate a triggering mechanism for the backup plan to proceed based upon the results of a staff audit. Once the triggering mechanism had been activated, the Telecommunications Division (TD) Director was to notify the assigned Commissioner, and the assigned ALJ by letter at any point thereafter where it was determined that code exhaustion is imminent in eight months.¹ Upon confirmation of the forecast, the assigned Commissioner, in consultation with the assigned ALJ and Telecommunications Division, was to then authorize the NANPA by letter to provide carrier notification for the back-up plan to take effect. The Assigned Commissioner's authorization to the NANPA was to be made within 30 days of receipt of the notification letter of the Telecommunications Division. The NANPA would then immediately notify carriers that implementation of the back-up plan must proceed indicating the dates for permissive and mandatory dialing.

The Decision directed that permissive dialing was to begin no later than two months from the effective date of the notice from the NANPA and to continue for three months thereafter. Thus, no less than seven months would elapse from the date of NANPA's notification to the industry to start implementation of the back-up plan until the end of the mandatory dialing period for the new area code.

This ruling is issued to provide parties the opportunity to be heard concerning a modification in the schedule time frame adopted in D.00-09-073 for implementation of the split. The proposed revisions are intended to provide for a more streamlined process for implementing the initial notice to proceed, and also to provide enhanced flexibility in scheduling so that the public and carriers have adequate opportunity to prepare for the new area code.

1. The Initial Notice Process

The Decision provided for a one-month period between the time of TD notification to the assigned Commissioner of the eight-months-to-exhaust trigger and the NANPA's notification to the industry to proceed with implementation. In view of the passage of time since the Decision was adopted and the continuing depletion of remaining NXX codes, a more expeditious approach would be simply to collapse these two events into one. Thus, the proposed revision would provide for notice to carriers to proceed immediately upon issuance of a Commission decision. With this revision, there would be no need for a separate one-month delay waiting for separate TD notification to the assigned Commissioner after the trigger mechanism had been activated.

2. Duration of Permissive and Mandatory Dialing Periods

The remaining seven-month implementation period contemplated in D.00-09-073 was predicated on implementation beginning after only seven-months of NXX codes remained available for lottery rationing. On this basis, the TD 310 Audit Report has already recommended that the implementation of the 310 NPA split should proceed without further delay.

The assumption underlying the seven-month schedule adopted in D.00-09-073 was that the 16 NXX codes previously reserved for number pooling would not be available for allocation to the 310 lottery. Yet, experience to date with the 310 number pool demand indicates that at least some of the NXX codes previously reserved for pooling could be reassigned to extend the lottery without jeopardizing carriers' access to numbering resources through the pool. By transferring additional NXX codes from the pool to the lottery, additional flexibility could be added to the 310 NPA split plan implementation schedule. Based upon an allocation of two codes every other month as an example, a total of six additional NXX codes transferred to the lottery from the number pool could provide for an additional five months of implementation time. This additional time could be used to adjust the permissive and mandatory dialing periods for the new NPA. This additional flexibility could benefit the public by providing more opportunity to become aware of and to prepare for the transition to the new area code, and thereby mitigate the adverse effects of changing to the new area code.

Accordingly, comments are solicited on revising the implementation timeframe for the 310/424 NPA split contemplated in D.00-09-073 to streamline the initial notice process and to provide for additional flexibility in scheduling mandatory and permissive dialing rather than adhering to the strict seven-month duration set forth in D.00-09-073.

IT IS RULED that:

1. Parties are hereby provided the opportunity to comment concerning the proposed modifications to D.00-09-073 regarding the duration of the implementation for the 310/424 NPA split as set forth above.

2. One round of concurrent comments shall be due on April 20, 2001.

Dated March 30, 2001, at San Francisco, California.

		/s/ THOMAS R. PULSIFER
		Thomas R. Pulsifer Administrative Law Judge

CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE

I certify that I have by mail this day served a true copy of the original attached Administrative Law Judge's Ruling Soliciting Comments on Adjusting Implementation Intervals for 310 NPA Relief Plan Set Forth in D.00-09-073 on all parties of record in this proceeding or their attorneys of record.

Dated March 30, 2001, at San Francisco, California.

/s/ GABY L. SUSANTO

Gaby L. Susanto

NOTICE

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