Press Release

Relief Required for 805 Area Code in California's Central Coast

WASHINGTON, D.C. (Sep. 9, 1999) - A new area code will be added to the 805 area code in California's Central Coast, possibly within the next 30 months, according to the Communications Industry Services (CIS) division of NeuStar, Inc., which serves as the North American Numbering Plan Administration (NANPA).

The 805 area code was projected to run out of available prefix codes during 2004, but numbering resource demands have moved that date to the first quarter of 2002.

Area code relief is needed for the 805 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.

NANPA officials are meeting with representatives from the California telecommunications industry to discuss relief alternatives for the 805 area code. Those alternatives will be discussed with local elected officials before being presented to the public.

Within the next nine months public meetings, facilitated by NANPA, will be held to receive public comment and input regarding the area code relief plans. NANPA will meet again with the telecommunications industry to review the public input before forwarding the industry's recommendation to the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC), which will have final approval for the plan.

Area code relief could take the form of a geographic split or an overlay. If a split is approved, the existing area code would be split, forming at least one new area code. Only phone customers in the new split area would receive the new area code. With an overlay, the new area code is applied to new phone customers and covers the entire geographic area as the existing area code. In addition, 11-digit dialing (1+ area code + phone number) is automatically required with an overlay.

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

Even though the 805 area code was split in February 1999 forming the new 661 area code, an additional area code is still needed for the remaining 805 area. That 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 counties.

Area code relief activities for the 805 area code 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 media inquiries, please contact Bill Stern, spokesman for the North American Numbering Plan Administration, at 202-533-2648.