State Urges Split of 310 Area Code

After a two-year battle between West Los Angeles residents and the telephone industry over changes to the 310 area code, state regulators have recommended moving forward with a plan to switch everyone south of Imperial Highway to a new 424 area code.

The Public Utilities Commission tried to stave off the need for the new code through an aggressive number-conservation effort that included phone-number rationing and changing old numbering policies.

But in a newly released report, state auditors said there are only enough phone numbers left in 310 to last about nine months.

Although the recommendation requires the PUC’s approval, the report leaves it little choice but to proceed with the 424 code, which could be introduced before the end of the year.

The move would bring to a close a fight that galvanized the communities within the 310 area code and became a symbol of the nation’s frustration over the rapid-fire introduction of new area codes.

The plan to split 310 is a bitter defeat for the residents and businesses that fought to stay aligned with the Westside. But consumer advocates said the 310 controversy spawned several improvements to the area code system that will benefit callers throughout the state.

Because of the uproar, state regulators halted plans to add 12 area codes in California, which had become the country’s king of area codes, with 25 in use statewide.

In addition, the fight substantially delayed the launch of 424, which originally was slated for use beginning in 1999 and was considered a fait accompli by regulators and phone companies at the time.

“This is still a great victory for the people who live in the 310 area code, because their [fight] bought pretty close to two years of additional life for that area code,” said Natalie Billingsley, senior analyst at the Office of Ratepayer Advocates, an independent consumer advocacy arm of the PUC.

“Now, the commission can assure the public that there’s no other choice, that every conservation method the commission is legally permitted to use has been used,” Billingsley said. “Now there are hard facts to support the need for a new area code in 310.”

The PUC’s plan will keep such areas as Beverly Hills, Santa Monica, Malibu and Inglewood in the 310 area code. Most of Compton, Gardena, Torrance and other South Bay beach cities, Lomita, Catalina Island, El Segundo and San Pedro will switch to 424.

The Westside area code rebellion started in early 1999, when regulators introduced 424 as the state’s first “overlay” area code, a method that involves two area codes serving the same geographic territory. Under state rules, callers in overlay zones must dial 11 digits on all calls--even those to and from the same area code.

The extra dialing fueled residents’ anger and ignited the area code battle that ultimately involved state legislators, the Federal Communications Commission, phone company lobbying and even lawsuits.

Ultimately, the overlay plan was scrapped. Regulators were left with only one option if a new area code was needed: a split.

While consumers have long understood that growing demand for numbers plays a role in the push for new area codes, many became enraged when they discovered that antiquated and wasteful numbering policies leave millions of numbers unused.

Until recently, phone numbers were given to phone companies in blocks of 10,000 numbers, no matter how many are needed by customers. That system left millions of phone numbers unused and “stranded” at companies that had no immediate need for them.

The California code fight ultimately helped spur a nationwide move to change the phone industry’s numbering method so that companies could acquire numbers in blocks of 1,000. Also, the FCC cracked down on firms that stockpiled numbers for future use.

Under a plan approved by the PUC in September, the phone companies will have four months to prepare for the split. After that, customers will receive several written notices, and the code will be phased in over five months.

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

Numbers Affected

The following telephone prefixes will be switched from the 310 area code to 424 under a recommendation by the staff of the Public Utilities Commission. *

*

Avalon: 510, 949

*

Compton: 223, 361, 438, 509, 537, 599, 603, 604, 605, 606, 609, 631, 632, 635, 637, 638, 639, 661, 667, 668, 669, 687, 735, 742, 747, 761, 762, 763, 764, 868, 884, 885, 886, 894, 898, 900, 928, 933

*

Compton/Gardena: 217, 225, 243, 323, 324, 327, 329, 352, 353, 354, 366, 380, 400, 404, 436, 464, 512, 515, 516, 523, 525, 527, 532, 538, 561, 627, 630, 660, 715, 719, 756, 767, 768, 769, 771, 800, 807, 808, 817, 818, 819, 851, 856, 878, 965, 999

*

El Segundo: 227, 252, 321, 322, 333, 334, 335, 336, 341, 343, 356, 364, 414, 416, 426, 469, 524, 535, 563, 606, 607, 615, 616, 640, 643, 647, 648, 658, 662, 726, 744, 760, 765, 955

*

Hawthorne: 219, 220, 263, 297, 331, 332, 349, 355, 363, 531, 536, 643, 644, 675, 676, 679, 706, 725, 727, 812, 813, 814, 844, 956, 970, 973, 978

*

Lomita: 257, 325, 326, 517, 530, 534, 539, 602, 626, 784, 891

*

Los Angeles: 853, 520

*

Redondo Beach: 214, 265, 303, 316, 318, 370, 371, 372, 373, 374, 375, 376, 377, 378, 379, 406, 421, 465, 540, 541, 542, 543, 544, 545, 546, 683, 698, 750, 791, 792, 793, 796, 798, 802, 896, 921, 937, 939, 944

*

San Pedro: 221, 233, 241, 427, 507, 513, 514, 518, 519, 521, 522, 547, 548, 549, 707, 732, 816, 830, 831, 832, 833, 834, 835, 847, 872, 952, 971

*

Torrance: 212, 218, 222, 224, 320, 328, 347, 357, 381, 468, 483, 533, 618, 619, 634, 755, 781, 782, 783, 787, 803, 901, 953, 972, 974

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

Code Split

The staff of the Public Utilities Commission has recommended splitting the 310 area code and assigning a new 424 area code south of Imperial Highway.