Santa Monicans will be dialing into the 424 in ’06
SAN FRANCISCO — The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) unanimously approved on Thursday a complete overlay of the existing 310 area code.
As a result of the decision, new telephone customers from Malibu to Ranchos Palos Verdes, and some inland areas beyond the Interstate 405, will be assigned the separate area code of 424. The new area code will also include some of those requesting new lines be added to existing ones.
The terms of the approval will allow phone carriers to prepare for the overlay, with a grace period beginning on Dec. 31, allowing customers to familiarize themselves with the new system. After July 26 of next year, callers within the 310 area code will be required to dial 11 digits. By Aug. 26, phone carriers will begin to hand out 424 numbers, according to information the CPUC provided.
CPUC President Michael R. Peevy said the decision to incorporate the overlay was a historic move that came after much debate.
“We have made every effort possible to avoid a split or overlay, and for quite some time our number-conservation efforts held off the need for a relief plan,” Peevey said. “The overlay approved is a first for California over its merits versus a geographic split.”
In approving the overlay, the CPUC rescinded the previously adopted plan for a geographic split of the 310 area code, which the CPUC leaned toward in 2000. The split would have created a new 424 area code south of the Imperial Highway, leaving the rest of the 310 region untouched.
The overlay, the change preferred by the major telephone companies, will create new 424 lines within the same region as existent 310 lines — a change that will result in residents having to dial 11 digits to call even a next-door neighbor.
Opponents of the overlay worked to block the efforts of T- Mobile, Nextel of California, Verizon Wireless, Sprint, SBC and other major phone companies.
While the overlay will force Westside residents to dial an area code when making local calls, it will allow existing business owners to avoid reprinting office stationery and business cards, the CPUC points out. Because a split would not have affected local businesses, the City Council had passed a resolution against the proposed overlay.
Currently, there are 381,000 available phone numbers remaining with the 310 area code, according to the CPUC.
The new 424 area code debate was born in 1999, when the CPUC considered an overlay to meet rapidly growing demand. Talk of overlay soon triggered a public outcry, which swayed the commission to instead implement number-conservation measures.
While the CPUC’s efforts served as a temporary remedy, growing demand in the 310 area returned the issue to the forefront. One conservation method used was “pooling,” which allowed telephone companies to obtain only 1,000 phone numbers at a time rather than the usual 10,000, according to the CPUC.
Before “pooling” was used, carriers often bought out large blocks of numbers, without having enough customers, leaving some numbers to go unused for a length of time.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on August 26, 2005. Read the original PDF.