STATE OF CALIFORNIA ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER, Governor

PUBLIC UTILITIES COMMISSION

505 VAN NESS AVENUE

SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94102-3298

November 20, 2003

TO: ALL PARTIES OF RECORD IN RULEMAKING 95-04-043 AND INVESTIGATION 95-04-044

Decision 03-11-022 is being mailed without the Dissent of Commissioner Loretta Lynch. The Dissent will be mailed separately

Very truly yours,

/s/ ANGELA K. MINKIN  

ANGELA K. MINKIN, Chief

Administrative Law Judge

ANG:hl2

ALJ/TRP/hl2 Mailed 11/20/2003

Decision 03-11-022 November 13, 2003

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)

OPINION IMPLEMENTING 909 AREA CODE PLAN

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Title Page

ORDER IMPLEMENTING 909 AREA CODE PLAN 2

I. Introduction 22

II. Process for Planning and Implementing New Area Codes 44

A. Initial Steps to Relieve Code Exhaust 55

B. Measures to Extend the Life of the Existing 909 Area Code 66

C. Current Need to Open New Area Code 99

D. Public Notification and Meetings of Area Code Change 1010

III. Industry Proposals 1212

A. Alternative #7 - Two-Way Geographic Split 1313

B. Alternative #6 - All-Services Overlay 1414

C. Comments of Industry Members 1414

IV. Selection of New Area Code Plan 1515

V. Implementation Schedule 2020

A. Continuation of Recorded Announcement Concerning Mandatory Dialing 2323

VI. Continuation of Lottery Rationing 2525

VII. Number Pooling Requirements 2525

VIII. Area Code Change for Customers of Wireless Carriers 2626

IX. Comments on Draft Decision 2727

X. Assignment of Proceeding 2727

Findings of Fact 2727

Conclusions of Law 3131

ORDER 3232

Appendix A: Alternative #1 NPA Split

OPINION IMPLEMENTING 909 AREA CODE PLAN

I. Introduction

By this decision, we formally approve the industry plan (identified as Alternative #1) for a geographic split of the 909 area code, or Numbering Plan Area (NPA),¹ as set forth in this order. We authorize the North American Numbering Plan Administrator (NANPA), together with carriers serving this area, to proceed with implementation of the plan in accordance with the schedule below.

The 909 area code includes cities and communities in parts of the counties of Los Angeles, Riverside, and San Bernardino, as illustrated on the Appendix A map, and currently serves a portion of Local Access and Transport Area 730. Under the adopted plan, a geographic split will create a new 951 area code with a boundary line defined by the rate centers in a west-to-east direction approximately through the center of the 909 area code. The new 951 area code will be assigned to the region south of the new boundary line. The boundary lines and rate centers for the new area code are shown in Appendix A of this order.

The new area code is required to ensure a continued supply of numbering resources to serve customers in the region, and to relieve the impending exhaustion of prefix codes. The NANPA projects exhaustion of prefix codes in the 909 area code to occur during the fourth quarter of 2003. The demand for numbering resources is being stimulated by competition in the local exchange market and demand for new services and rapid changes in technology.

Under the adopted schedule, the new 951 area code may be dialed on a permissive basis beginning on July 17, 2004, and must be dialed on a mandatory basis for calls into the 951 area code beginning on October 30, 2004. Carriers may start assigning numbers from the new area code beginning February 27, 2005.

Permissive dialing is a term that refers to the introductory grace period during which customers are given the opportunity to begin adjusting to dialing the 951 area code for numbers assigned to the new area code. During the "permissive dialing period," customers have the option of dialing the new area code, but may still reach parties in the new 951 area code by dialing the 909 area code. Callers are encouraged to begin dialing the 951 area code once the permissive dialing period begins so that they will be used to the new area code by the time it becomes mandatory.

At the end of the permissive dialing grace period, a subsequent implementation phase begins referred to as the "mandatory dialing" period.² Once the mandatory dialing phase begins, callers dialing numbers that are assigned the new 951 area code must dial the new area code and can no longer reach the called party by dialing the 909 area code. During the "mandatory dialing" phase of implementation, carriers are required to play a special recorded message whenever a caller wrongly dials the 909 area code to reach a number that has been changed to the 951 area code. The recorded message instructs the caller to hang up and redial the number using the 951 area code.

In order to ensure that callers hear the special recorded message whenever they dial the 909 area code for numbers assigned to the new 951 area code, no new numbers may be assigned to customers in the new area code during the mandatory dialing phase of implementation. Otherwise, a caller may reach a wrong number rather than hear the recorded message. Carriers are able to begin assigning numbers from prefixes in the new 951 area code only after the mandatory dialing phase of implementation has been completed. Of course, mandatory dialing of the new area code remains in effect after the implementation period concludes. At the end of the mandatory dialing phase of implementation, however, the special recorded message instructing the caller to redial the number using the new area code is no longer played. We discuss our concerns regarding continued notice to the public of the new area code after the official end of the implementation period later in this order.