Press Release

Public Meetings Scheduled for 626 Area Code Relief in Southern California

WASHINGTON, D.C. (Jan. 05, 2000) - Public meetings will be held January 12 and 13, 2000 to receive public comments regarding upcoming area code relief in the 626 area code in southern California, according to NeuStar, Inc., which serves as the North American Numbering Plan Administration (NANPA).

Phone customers in the 626 area code, which includes the San Gabriel Valley within Los Angeles County, could receive a new area code as early as first quarter 2002. The 626 area code includes communities such as Alhambra, Azusa, Baldwin Park, Covina, West Covina, El Monte, Glendora, Irwindale, La Puente, Monrovia, Pasadena, San Gabriel, and Sierra Madre in Los Angeles County.

Customers are invited to share their views regarding proposed area code relief plans during the public meetings, which are scheduled as follows:

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 12, 2000
1:00 P.M.
LA PUENTE
City Council Chambers
15900 E. Main Street
La Puente, CA

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 12, 2000
7:00 P.M.
ARCADIA
City Council Chambers
240 W. Huntington Drive
Arcadia, CA

THURSDAY, JANUARY 13, 2000
10:00 A.M.
GLENDORA
City Council Chambers
116 E. Foothill Blvd.
Glendora, CA

In September 1999, NANPA announced that area code relief would be needed for the 626 area code within 30 months. The 626 area code is projected to run out of available prefix codes during the 2nd quarter of 2001. This is due, in part, to an increase in competition in the local phone service market, the growing demand by the public for additional telephone numbers, and a technical requirement in the phone network that allocates phone numbers in blocks of 10,000.

The area code relief plans will not affect the cost of placing a call.

Following the public meetings, NANPA officials will meet with the telecommunications industry to review the public input before forwarding the industry's recommendation to the California Public Utilities Commission, which has final approval for the plan.

A telecommunications industry group, comprised of various industry segments, collectively develops area code relief plans for the state of California. Relief activities for the state of California are administered by NeuStar, Inc., which was selected by the FCC to serve as the NANPA. NANPA is a neutral, third-party administrator that works with the telecommunications industry in developing area code relief plans. NANPA also oversees the assignment of area codes, three-digit central office codes, carrier identification codes, and other numbering resources throughout the United States, Canada, Bermuda and 16 Caribbean countries.

For media inquiries, please contact Bill Stern, spokesman for the North American Numbering Plan Administration, at 202-533-2648.