Consumer Sessions re: New Area Code
Name:
Consumer Sessions re: New Area Code
Date:
September 26, 2012
Time:
6:00 PM - 8:00 PM PDT
Event Description:
LAUGHLIN — The Public Utilities Commission of Nevada is conducting a meeting Wednesday, Sept. 26, to receive public comment regarding a petition filed by NeuStar on behalf of the Nevada telecommunications industry to implement a new area code in the existing 702 exchange. Representatives from NeuStar, the North American Numbering Plan Administrator, and various telecommunications providers will be present to provide an overview of the petition and to answer questions. Public comment will be limited to the contents of the application.
According to Joe Cocke, senior area code relief planner with NeuStar, available numbers in the 702 area code will be exhausted during the third quarter of 2014, and NeuStar is recommending that a new area code be superimposed on the same geographic area as the existing 702 area code. Customers currently assigned 702 area codes will retain their telephone numbers.
If the plan, referred to as an overlay, is approved by the PUC, all calls will require 10-digit dialing, said Cocke, even if the person or business a customer is attempting to dial is located across the street. A practice dialing period of the ten-digit phone numbers would begin in August 2013. Mandatory 10-digit dialing would take effect in May 2014 if the petition is given the green light.
By notifying businesses and residents now of the potential overlay, the PUC is attempting to provide sufficient time for the necessary modifications and updates that will need to be made to alarm systems, PBX telephone systems and support items, such as dialing instruction cards in hotel rooms, said Cocke.
In 1947, AT&T developed the North American Number Plan - an integrated telephone number plan serving North American countries that share its resources - to simplify and facilitate direct dialing of long distance calls. The format of an area code is NXX, where N is any digit 2 through 9, and X is any digit 0 through 9. Initially, the middle digit of an area code had to be 0 or 1. When this restriction was removed in 1995, additional area code combinations became available. There are 800 possible combinations associated with the NXX format. Some of these combinations, however, are not available or have been reserved for special purposes. For more information about NANPA, go to www.nanpa.com.
Individual notices of tonight’s meeting were not mailed to customers with their phone bills. Rather, notices of the meeting were posted in the Las Vegas Review Journal and at Spirit Mountain Community Center. The actual petition - listed as Docket Number 12-06016 - can be viewed at www.puc.nv.gov.
According to Joe Cocke, senior area code relief planner with NeuStar, available numbers in the 702 area code will be exhausted during the third quarter of 2014, and NeuStar is recommending that a new area code be superimposed on the same geographic area as the existing 702 area code. Customers currently assigned 702 area codes will retain their telephone numbers.
If the plan, referred to as an overlay, is approved by the PUC, all calls will require 10-digit dialing, said Cocke, even if the person or business a customer is attempting to dial is located across the street. A practice dialing period of the ten-digit phone numbers would begin in August 2013. Mandatory 10-digit dialing would take effect in May 2014 if the petition is given the green light.
By notifying businesses and residents now of the potential overlay, the PUC is attempting to provide sufficient time for the necessary modifications and updates that will need to be made to alarm systems, PBX telephone systems and support items, such as dialing instruction cards in hotel rooms, said Cocke.
Individual notices of tonight’s meeting were not mailed to customers with their phone bills. Rather, notices of the meeting were posted in the Las Vegas Review Journal and at Spirit Mountain Community Center. The actual petition - listed as Docket Number 12-06016 - can be viewed at www.puc.nv.gov.
