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TMCNet: EDITORIAL: If 415 area code is running out of numbers, overlay is best option

[January 20, 2013]

EDITORIAL: If 415 area code is running out of numbers, overlay is best option

Jan 20, 2013 (The Marin Independent Journal - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- THE STATE says we are running out of prefixes and we need a new area code.

The California Public Utilities Commission wants to add a new 628 area code to the region that's now 415. Regulators can split the existing 415 area or overlay 628 on the 415 region.

A split would mean that part of the region would be switched from 415 to 628. An overlay means new numbers would get the 628 code.

The PUC held two hearings Thursday in San Rafael to explain the two available alternatives and to hear what people think about them.

Maps at the hearings showed the split occuring in San Francisco, with part of it being in one area code and the rest with Marin in the other. No decision has been made on which area would get the new code and which would keep 415.

An overlay is the best choice because it will cause the least disruption for residents, businesses, schools and local government. There are five such overlays in California. The last area code split in the United States was in 2007 in New Mexico.

Overlays work. And given the ubiquity of cell phones and the fact we move frequently and often live in one area code and work in another, people are used to juggling different area codes.

An overlay also can be a pain. Callers would have to dial "1" and the area code for all calls, even those to a 415 number from a 415 number.

The question that has not been sufficiently answered is whether a new area code is truly needed.

We were told in 1998 that a new area code was needed because the 415 was running out of numbers. Officials retreated after protests were raised. A PUC analyst said officials were able to delay adding a new area code by conserving numbers.

The PUC says the 415 is running out of prefixes because each one is assigned to one of 14 rate centers. Under Federal Communications Commission rules, each prefix must be used for phone services in that rate center's jurisdiction. Prefixes can't be shifted to other parts of the area code.

David Schonnbrunn, a transportation expert, called the FCC's rules "moronic" at Thursday's hearing and said they should be tweaked.

Given today's technology, perhaps the FCC could change those rules before adding a new area code.

After public comment has been collected, an analyst will create a report for the Public Utilities Commission and a decision will be made in several months.

A new area code will not be the end of the world, of course. But it will be a major change, especially for any business that relies on the phone. State regulators need to be absolutely sure the change is needed. We encourage phone users (that would be everyone) to learn about what is going on and let officials know what they think.

___ (c)2013 The Marin Independent Journal (Novato, Calif.) Visit The Marin Independent Journal (Novato, Calif.) at www.marinij.com Distributed by MCT Information Services

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