Press Release

Three New Overlay Area Codes Assigned to Chicago's 708, 630, 312 and 773 Area Codes

WASHINGTON, D.C. (August 16, 1999) — Three new overlay area codes have been assigned to the Chicago area's 708, 630, and 312 and 773 area codes, according to the Communications Industry Services (CIS) group of NeuStar, Inc., which serves as the North American Numbering Plan Administrator (NANPA).

The Chicago suburbs served by the 708 and 630 area codes will receive the overlay codes of 464 and 331, respectively. The new 872 overlay will cover both the 312 and 773 area codes in Chicago. The new area codes will serve the same geographic area as the existing calling areas.

The three overlay plans were approved June 30 by the Illinois Commerce Commission (ICC). The ICC has ordered that before the new overlay area codes begin, thousand-block number pooling must be implemented within the 708, 630, 312 and 773 area codes. Thousand-block number pooling is a conservation measure designed to extend the current life of the four existing area codes.

In addition, the ICC on August 10 petitioned the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to obtain a temporary waiver from 10-digit dialing within the overlay codes until all numbers have been exhausted within the four Chicago area codes and the new overlay codes are required. An overlay area code requires 10-digit or 1+10-digit dialing when placing a call, even if it's within the same area code.

Thousand-Block Number Pooling
The implementation of thousand-block numbering pooling in the 708, 630, 312 and 773 area codes follows a successful pooling trial in Chicago's 847 area code, where the life of that area code has been extended over a year. In June 1998, NANPA announced that the 224 area code would be added as an overlay to 847 to provide area code relief. However, with the extension of the 847 area code, the 224 overlay code has yet to activated.

In approving the four recent overlays, the ICC stated that "number pooling and conservation is clearly working in Illinois." With the results of the 847 number pooling trial, the ICC concluded that number pooling can also delay the exhaust of the other four Chicago area codes.

When number pooling is implemented, service providers and phone companies receive phone numbers in blocks of 1,000, rather than the required 10,000-block allotment. The telephone network designed in 1947 distributes phone numbers in blocks of 10,000, regardless of how many are needed by the service providers.

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is considering whether the change should be implemented nationwide. Other than Chicago's 847 area code, number pooling has been implemented in two area codes in the country - 212 and 718 in New York.

Number pooling will be started August 16 in the 630 area code; by August 30 in 312, and October 1 in the 773 area codes. The 708 area code won't begin number pooling until the end of the Y2K stabilization period, which is February 2000.

Without implementing number pooling, the projected exhaust dates of the four area codes are: fourth quarter 1999 for 630; second quarter 2000 for 312, third quarter 2000 for 773; and second quarter 2001 for 708.

How An Overlay Area Code Works
With an overlay, a second area code is added to the same geographic area as the existing area code, with all current phone customers retaining the original area code. New telephone customers for local phone service, cellular and paging services, and alarms, for example, assigned in the same area may receive telephone numbers in the new overlay area code.

The FCC requires that all telephone calls made in the overlay area will require 1+10-digit dialing (1 + area code + seven-digit phone number) - this includes calls currently dialed with seven digits in the existing area code and even those within the same area code.

In addition to Chicago, overlay area codes have been implemented in several large cities across the United States, including Denver, Miami, Atlanta, Houston and Dallas. The entire state of Maryland has two overlays, thus requiring 1+10 digit dialing throughout the state. Currently, there are 13 active overlay area codes in eight states.

Implementation of the New Overlays
The start dates of the new overlays are still to be determined, and will depend on the activation of number pooling and on the impact that number pooling has on extending the lives of the current area codes.

After number pooling has been activated and the life of the area code has been exhausted, NANPA will advise the ICC - 30 days in advance - that the first prefix will be assigned to the new overlay area code. The first prefix can only be assigned after all the prefixes in the existing area code have been used, and will not be activated until at least 90 days after assignment.

During that 90-day period, "permissive dialing" will begin and will allow customers calling from within the existing area code (708, 630, 312, 773) to dial either seven- or 1+10-digits. Customers are encouraged to dial 1+10 digits on all calls during the permissive period to get used to the new dialing plan for overlay area codes.

At the end of the 90-day permissive dialing period, mandatory dialing will require callers to use the new 1+10-digit dialing to complete their calls. Callers who don't use the 1+10-digit dialing pattern will receive a recorded message reminding them to dial 1+10 digits. They will then be required to redial the number.

Things to Remember
When switching to or adding a new area code, Tokarek said there are several items customers should remember including:

• Changing stationery, business cards, and advertising to reflect the correct area code, if not already shown
• Updating fax machine group calling lists to include 10-digit or 1+10-digit phone numbers
• Reprogramming speed dialers, auto dialers, alarms, and PBX (private phone systems)
• Reprogramming outdial lists on personal computers to include 10 digits or 1+10-digits
• Updating or reprogramming private-dial entry access systems for 10-digits or 1+10-digits.

Sandy Tokarek, NANPA's senior area code relief planner for the Central Region, including Illinois, said the introduction of the new area codes will not affect the price of telephone calls. "Local calls will remain local calls regardless of the area code dialed," she noted.

A telecommunications industry group comprised of more than 18 companies collectively developed the area code relief plan for the overlays submitted for ICC approval. 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 and state regulators 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, log on to www.nanpa.com; or for number pooling, www.numberpool.com.

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