Press Release

Public Meetings Scheduled for 530 Area Code Relief in Northern California

WASHINGTON, D.C. (Oct. 20, 1999) - Public meetings will be held October 27 and 28 to receive public comments regarding upcoming area code relief in the 530 area code in northern California, according to the Communications Industry Services (CIS) division of Neustar, Inc., which serves as the North American Numbering Plan Administration (NANPA).

Customers in the 530 area code, which includes Siskiyou, Modoc, Humboldt, Trinity, Shasta, Lassen, Tehama, Mendocino, Lake, Glenn, Butte, Plumas, Colusa, Sutter, Yuba, Sierra, Nevada, Placer, Yolo, El Dorado, Alpine and Mono counties, could receive a new area code as early as November 2001. Cities and communities such as Yreka, Redding, Chico, Marysville, Alturas, Susanville, Truckee, South Lake Tahoe and Auburn are also included in the 530 area code. Customers are invited to share their views regarding proposed area code relief plans during the public meetings, which are scheduled as follows:

Wednesday, October 27, 1999
1:00 p.m Placerville Town Hall
549 Main Street
Placerville, CA

Wednesday, October 27, 1999
7:00 p.m. Woodland City Council Chambers
300 First Street
Woodland, CA

Thursday, October 28, 1999
1:00 p.m Oroville City Council Chambers
1735 Montgomery Street
Oroville, CA

Thursday, October 28, 1999
7:00 p.m. Redding City Council Chambers
1313 California Street
Redding, CA

In June 1999, NANPA announced that area code relief would be needed for the 530 area code within 30 months. The 530 area code is projected to run out of available prefix codes during the 4th quarter of 2001. 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.

Area code relief activities for the 530 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 is responsible for area code relief planning and 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.