Davis Urges Panel to Halt 310 Overlay

Gov. Gray Davis urged the state Public Utilities Commission on Wednesday to halt the 424 / 310 area code overlay, calling it premature at best and possibly unnecessary.

The governor’s request came as the Federal Communications Commission granted the commission permission to implement number conservation measures expected to diminish the need for area code splits and overlays, including one proposed for the 818 area in the San Fernando Valley.

Both recommendations came on the eve of today’s meeting of the commission in San Francisco, at which commissioners are scheduled to vote on implementing the overlay in the 310 area, which covers the Westside and South Bay.

When an overlay is created, all new phone numbers in the targeted region get a new area code while existing numbers keep the old one. In addition, under FCC rules all phone users in an overlay zone must dial area codes for all calls, even local ones.

Davis made his request in a letter to Commissioner Joel Hyatt, who released a draft decision earlier this month calling for a rollback of the 310 overlay. Davis appointed Hyatt to the five-member commission this year.

“In Los Angeles, residences and businesses have been subjected to a complicated and costly 11-digit dialing scheme,” Davis wrote, “and face the prospect of more confusion as additional area code splits and overlays are imposed.”

Davis scolded the commission for its decision to create an overlay without first determining how many unused numbers exist within the 310 area code.

“This has left L.A. running short of available numbers while we lack the basic facts about how many unused numbers exist,” the governor wrote. “All unused 310 numbers should be used first before deciding to create complicated and costly new area code splits.”

Davis said that he supports the number conservation measures approved by the FCC and that they should be acted upon immediately.

In Wednesday’s action, the FCC gave the commission authority to reduce the amount of telephone numbers allotted to telephone companies at one time from 10,000 to 1,000. Critics contend that the number shortage claimed by phone companies is partly the result of the firms hoarding numbers to maintain a competitive edge. The FCC also gave the commission authority to study number utilization when splits or overlays are proposed.

Additionally, state regulators now have the power to reclaim unused prefixes and portions of those prefixes for placement in a single pool for distribution, and to require phone companies to give out numbers in sequential order.

“We are very pleased that the Federal Communications Commission has acted on our petition granting the authority,” said Helen Mickiewicz, an attorney for the commission. “We hope to be using this authority soon to slow down the rate at which the industry is requesting phone numbers in California, because repeated area code relief has taken a toll on the public.”

Assemblyman Wally Knox (D-Los Angeles), who shepherded a bill through the Legislature to put tighter controls on area code changes, said the FCC’s ruling addresses the same issues.

“This decision perfectly dovetails with Assembly Bill 406,” he said. “We have a one-two punch, with the FCC clarifying the authority of the state of California.”

State Sen. Richard Alarcon (D-Sylmar) called the FCC decision a victory for California consumers.

“This determination will improve the flexibility of the PUC to make decisions that are friendlier to our needs,” he said. “There is no longer a need to rush into a split or overlay in the 818 area code. We will have greater assurance that numbers will be properly utilized. . . . This is very good news.”

Telephone companies, including Pacific Bell, have been pushing for overlays, saying that the proliferation of fax machines, pagers, computer modems and cellular phones has created a number shortage and that overlays are less disruptive than splitting off a new area code.

Pac Bell spokesman Steve Getzug said he could not immediately comment on the FCC action or Davis’ recommendation. But Pac Bell officials “have said many times that we support conserving telephone numbers,” he added.