Press Release

Mandatory Dialing Begins August 14 for 661 Area Code, Split from 805 Area Code Phone Customers Now Required to Use New Area Code When Making Calls

WASHINGTON, D.C. (August 9, 1999) – Mandatory dialing for the new 661 area code, which is being split from the 805 area code, begins August 14, and will require callers to use the correct area code to complete their calls. If the wrong area code is dialed, callers will receive a recorded message reminding them that the area code has changed and will have to hang up and re-dial the number, using the correct area code. The recorded message will remain on the line until November 13, 1999.

The reminder came today from the Communications Industry Services (CIS) division of NeuStar, Inc., which serves as the North American Numbering Plan Administration (NANPA).

Permissive dialing for the 805-661 area code split began February 13. During this period, callers could use both the 805 and 661 area codes when making calls outside the respective calling areas. On August 14, callers will be required to use the correct area code to complete their calls.

The new 661 area code encompasses the eastern portion of the 805 calling area and includes the majority of Kern County, the Santa Clarita Valley and Antelope Valley areas of northern Los Angeles County and small portions of Tulare and Santa Barbara counties. Some of the cities and communities changing to the new 661 area code include Castaic, Newhall, Saugus, Santa Clarita, Canyon Country, Lancaster, Palmdale, Lake Hughes, Rosamond, Hi Vista, Edwards, Mojave, Gorman, Frazier Park, Lebec, Arvin, Bakersfield, Delano, Shafter, Buttonwillow, McKittrick, Taft, Maricopa, Cuyama, McFarland, Lost Hills, Wasco, Tehachapi, Glennville, Earlimart and California Hot Springs.

Cities and communities remaining in the 805 calling area include: 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 Fresno, Kings and Monterey counties.

Dialing the 661 area code to place a call will not affect the price of telephone calls. "A local call will remain a local call, regardless of the area code dialed," said Joe Cocke, NANPA’s senior area code relief planner for the Western Region, including California.

The introduction of the new 661 area code is needed, Cocke added, 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 allocates phone numbers in blocks of 10,000.

A telecommunications industry group, comprised of various industry segments, collectively developed the area code relief plan for California’s 805-661 area code split. Area code relief activities are administered by CIS, which was selected by the Federal Communications Commission (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 and 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 more information about NANPA, click on www.nanpa.com.

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