Attorney for Pac Bell Warns of ‘Crunch’ in 818 Area Code

A Pacific Bell attorney warned a judge Monday that the region would run out of new 818 area code phone numbers by June 1998, or earlier than expected. “We’re facing a real crunch here,” said Pacific Bell attorney Margaret Brown.

Brown urged Administrative Law Judge Philip Weismehl, who is handling complaints over the proposed split of the 818 area code, for “a decision at the earliest possible moment.” But it’s unlikely a final ruling will be made before October.

Because of the proliferation of phone numbers, an industry group has recommended splitting up the San Fernando Valley’s 818 area code in Burbank, with a new 626 area code running eastward into the San Gabriel Valley.

But the city of Monterey Park filed a complaint to keep the San Gabriel Valley in the 818 area code, and force the San Fernando Valley area to take on the 626 area code.

Meanwhile, Burbank and Glendale joined forces and filed a complaint to have the geographic split extended slightly so that both communities can remain in the 818 code.

On Monday, Weismehl consolidated the two cases, and ordered all legal briefs to be filed by Sept. 9.

After the hearing, Weismehl said that he will rule as soon as possible, and that after his decision it may be several more weeks before the state Public Utilities Commission makes its final ruling. The PUC can also overturn Weismehl’s decision.

Weismehl, though, expects the PUC to settle on a final boundary line for the new area code before the end of this year. About 2.5 million phone numbers will be changed to the new 626 area code.

A surge in phone numbers is due to the increased use of everything from pay-at-the-pump phone hookups, to fax machines and cellular phones that have overloaded the telecommunications industry. By 2000, California is expected to have 13 new area codes.

According to state law, it will be at least 15 months after the PUC makes its final decision before the new 626 area code goes into effect.

In an interview, attorney Helen Mickiewicz, with the PUC’s Division of Ratepayer Advocates, said that Burbank-Glendale and Monterey Park’s legal arguments have a familiar ring to them. “Everybody has got a gripe. Nobody wants a new area code. They want it to be somebody else’s problem.”

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Dividing by Numbers

The plan to give Glendale and most of Burbank and the San Grabriel Valley a new area code is running into opposition. Here are the communities the proposed code would serve.