Press Release

Public Meetings Scheduled for 805 Area Code Relief in California's Central Coast

WASHINGTON, D.C. (March 1, 2000) -Public meetings will be held March 8 and 9, 2000 to receive public comments regarding upcoming area code relief in the 805 area code in California's Central Coast, according to NeuStar, Inc., which serves as the North America Numbering Plan Administrator (NANPA).

The 805 area code was split in February 1999 forming the new 661 area code. Since that time, it has been determined that an additional area code is still needed for the remaining 805 area. The 805 area code extends from Ventura County in the south to San Luis Obispo and southern Monterey Counties.

The 805 area includes cities and communities such as Thousand Oaks, Simi Valley, Camarillo, Oxnard, Santa Paula, Oxnard and Ventura in Ventura County; Santa Barbara, Lompoc and Santa Maria in Santa Barbara County; Pismo Beach, Morro Bay, San Luis Obispo, and Paso Robles in San Luis Obispo County, as well as very small parts of Monterey County.

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

WEDNESDAY, March 08, 2000
1:00 P.M.
VENTURA
City Council Chambers
501 Poli Street
Ventura, CA

WEDNESDAY, March 08, 2000
7:00 P.M.
SANTA BARBARA
City Council Chambers
735 Anacapa Street
Santa Barbara, CA

THURSDAY, March 09, 2000
1:00 P.M.
SAN LUIS OBISPO
City Council Chambers
900 Palm Street
San Luis Obispo, CA

In September 1999, NANPA announced that area code relief would be needed for the 805 area code within 30 months. The 805 area code is projected to run out of available prefix codes during the 3rd quarter of 2002. 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.