V. Implementation Schedule

We shall adopt an implementation schedule for the geographic split as set forth below. The NANPA shall notify carriers to implement the 909/951 area code split according to the following schedule:

Event	Due Date
Carriers to notify customers regarding the split	Within 120 days of the effective date of this order
Permissive dialing begins	July 17, 2004
Mandatory dialing begins	October 30, 2004
First Code Activation Using New Area Code	February 27, 2005

The NANPA shall promptly notify carriers serving the 909 area code of the adopted schedule for the new area code plan, and provide nationwide notification no later than 30 days from the effective date of this order. Carriers, excluding pagers, shall notify their subscribers no later than 120 days after the effective date of this decision, of the schedule for the new area code, and shall provide a second written notice within three months of the beginning of mandatory dialing for the new area code. Early customer notice will provide the maximum amount of time for the public to begin preparations for the new area code.

We shall adopt a nine-month interval from Commission approval for the beginning of permissive dialing under the new area code. This interval should provide sufficient time for carriers to configure their switches and networks to accommodate the new area code.

We shall also adopt the industry proposal for a three and one-half month permissive dialing period to follow, and a subsequent four-month mandatory dialing period before prefix codes may be assigned using the 951 area code. We are concerned that the mere two-month mandatory dialing period proposed by the industry is too short to give customers the opportunity to become accustomed to the new area code.

The combined permissive and mandatory dialing periods determine how long before a new supply of numbers becomes available to carriers. Transitional dialing periods, if too long, increase the risk of running out of numbers to meet customer demand, and if too short, increase the potential for customer confusion or disruption resulting from dialing a wrong area code. Customers need time to notify others, change stationery, and business cards, change their listings in printed catalogs, and reprogram security alarm equipment, etc., to reflect the new area code. Customers also need time to acclimate to dialing the new area code.

The three and one-half month permissive dialing period will allow wireless carriers time to reprogram wireless phones that are not "over-the-air" capable. The wireless carriers estimate that several hundred thousand handsets will require reprogramming. Customers using these handsets that are not "over-the-air" capable must physically take them to their carriers for reprogramming if they want their new area code to be displayed on the handset. We have scheduled the start date for permissive and mandatory dialing on a Saturday in order to minimize the risk of customer problems that might otherwise occur.

At the end of the permissive dialing period, mandatory dialing of the 951 area code will take effect, requiring callers outside that area code to dial the 951 area code to reach a number in that area code. The mandatory dialing period shall begin on October 30, 2004. If a customer fails to dial the 951 area code after mandatory dialing begins, a recorded message will instruct the caller to hang up and redial using the 951 area code. This message will continue to play during the mandatory dialing period at least until February 27, 2005. As discussed in section V.A. below, we shall take further comments on extending the recorded message beyond this date.

Carriers will not be able to issue numbers from new prefixes in the 951 area code, however, until the end of the mandatory dialing period. During this period, numbers that were assigned in the 909 area code prior to the split cannot be reassigned as new numbers to customers in the 951 area code. The mandatory dialing period provides a further opportunity for the public to become accustomed to dialing the new area code. It also allows time for calling card and third-party type call billing records to be applied to the correct customer accounts before the prefixes assigned to the 909 area code are reassigned in the 951 area code.

After February 27, 2005, carriers can begin to assign new numbers from the prefix codes created by the 909/951 area code split. Up until then, carriers can still draw upon any existing inventory of prefix codes they hold as a source for providing their interim number needs. Carriers were permitted to keep a six-month inventory of prefix codes in the 909 area code

The constrained number resources in the 909 area code preclude delaying the start of mandatory dialing to a later period. In order to guard against adverse impacts on customers from insufficient time to prepare for the new area code, therefore, careful attention needs to be paid to effective customer outreach and notice concerning the new area code.

A. Continuation of Recorded Announcement Concerning Mandatory Dialing

Under existing industry practice, at the end of the prescribed mandatory dialing period, all service providers and carriers remove from their switching networks the special recorded message instructing the caller to redial using the new area code. After the special recording is removed, callers dialing the wrong area code will simply hear the standard "Vacant Code" recording indicating that call cannot be completed as dialed and instructing the caller to check the number and dial again. This standard recorded announcement continues to play for each prefix until such time as it is assigned to a service provider with a rate center and routing information as provided in the Local Exchange Routing Guide. Once the prefix is assigned to a service provider, any call dialed to that prefix using the wrong area code will trigger a recorded message indicating that the number is no longer in service. As numbers in that prefix are assigned to new customers, the caller will merely reach a wrong number.

We are concerned that the public interest is not adequately served by the present industry practice of discontinuing the special recorded message instructing the caller to dial the new area code immediately after the end of the prescribed mandatory dialing period. We recognize that there may be certain technical, economic, or regulatory issues involved in continuing the special recorded message beyond the end of the mandatory dialing period. Yet, we believe the time has come to critically consider new alternatives that will provide additional support to the public in adjusting to a new area code. We therefore direct local exchange carriers, to the extent possible, to continue playing the special recorded message instructing the caller to dial the new 951 area code for one year following the end of the mandatory dialing period, or until such time as the prefix is assigned in the 951 area code.

We also shall direct parties to submit comments on alternative measures that may be feasible to extend the period during which the special recording is played directing callers to dial the new area code. Parties shall also identify and discuss any technical, economic or regulatory constraints that may need to be resolved and proposed solutions for their resolution in order to implement the special recording for an indefinite period until the numbers subject to the area code change are assigned to a new customer. We shall address the issue in a subsequent order after receipt and review of comments.