Press Release

Area Code Relief Planed for the Atlanta Area
470 will be the New Multiple Overlay Code

Washington, DC (February 20, 2001) --- The North American Numbering Plan Administration (NANPA) announced today that a new overlay area code ---(470)---has been assigned to the Atlanta metropolitan area.

The area currently served by the 678 area code, which is a multiple overlay over the 404 and 770 area codes, has been assigned the new 470 overlay code.The 678 area code is projected to exhaust Second Quarter 2001.Activation dates and the customer education plan for the new overlay area code will be determined at a later date.

The area code relief plan was recommended by a telecommunications industry group. The group considered several alternatives for relief of the 678 calling area before reaching an agreement on the overlay plan. The Georgia Public Service Commission approved the overlay relief plan last week.

In the overlay plan, an additional area code is added to the same geographic area currently served by the existing 678 area code. All existing numbers will retain the current area code 678, but new telephone customers for local phone service, cellular and paging services, and alarms, may be assigned a telephone number in the new 470 overlay area code.The remaining codes in the 404 calling area will continue to be available until 2004.

In addition, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) requires that all local telephone calls made in an overlay area code use a 10-digit (area code + seven digit phone number) dialing plan. In Georgia, all local calls made within and between the 678, 770, 404 and the new 470 area codes must be made dialing 10-digits.

Thomas C. Foley, NANPA’s area code relief planner for the Eastern Region, which includes Georgia, said the introduction of the new 470 area code is needed due 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 currently allocates phone numbers in blocks of 10,000.

Foley said the addition of the new 470 overlay area code would not affect the cost of telephone calls. “Local calls will remain local calls regardless of the area code dialed,” he noted.

A telecommunications industry group, comprised of service providers from various industry segments, collectively develops area code relief plans for Georgia. Relief activities for area codes in Georgia are administered by NeuStar, Inc., which was selected by the FCC to serve as the NANPA.

NANPA is the neutral, third party administrator committed to working 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.

Visit NANPA online at www.nanpa.com.

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