CRTC Approves Manitoba 204/431 Area Code Overlay [telecom]

Today, Wednesday 28-July-2010, the Canadian Radio-Television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) approved the future overlay of Manitoba's 204 Area Code with the new 431 Area Code.

The Canadian telcos, through the SAIC-CNA (Canadian Numbering Administration) has been preparing for relief for Manitoba's 204, with an overlay as the primary relief method, for about a year now.

The CRTC's press release, dated today, announcing their decision for this forthcoming area code relief, Telecom Decision CRTC 2010-526, can be found at:

The actual CRTC decision (2010-526) can be found at: (HTML) (Adobe-Acrobat)

Implementation dates for the 204/431 Overlay are as follows... Note that not all of these dates are referenced in the CRTC documents; Note that these dates might not necessarily be the same as tentative dates I had mentioned in previous postings for Manitoba's 204/431 NPA Relief Planning.

Transition from 7-Digit to 10-Digit Local Intra-204 Dialing

-----------------------------------------------------------

Thursday 01-December-2011 Start date of a week-long "phase-in" for (official) permissive 10-digit dialing alongside existing 7-digit dialing where not already in effect (some c.o.switches already allow 10-d permissive)

Sunday 29-July-2012 Start date of a week-long "phase-in" for a REMINDER recording on local calls still dialed as just 7-digits -- the 7-digit dialed local calls will still be completed following the recording.

Saturday 20-October-2012 Start date of a week-long "phase-in" for MANDATORY dialing of 10-digit local calls (no more 7-digit dialing allowed) -- such 7-digit dialed local calls will NOT complete, but will instead only connect to this mandatory 10-digit recorded announcement.

New 431-NXX C.O.Codes Request/Activation Dates

----------------------------------------------

Thursday 03-May-2012 earliest date for requesting assignment by the CNA of new 431-NXXes

Saturday 03-November-2012 (earliest) activation date for such new (pre-assigned) 431-NXXes

431-N10 Codes/Dates for -TEST/BILL Numbers

------------------------------------------

Monday 30-April-2012 Start of Test-Numbers

Monday 03-December-2012 Disconnect Test-Numbers (start of month-long disconnect period)

The TEST/BILL numbers could have distinct verbage for BILL vs. TEST, and are also likely to be bi-lingual, English-then-French.

Also, the "10-digit reminder" and "10-digit mandatory" recordings for local calls still dialed as just seven-digits following the respective dates, are likely to be bi-lingual, English-then-French.

There is a rather sizeable French-speaking population in Winnipeg and elsewhere throughout Manitoba.

The numbers ending -8378 (TEST) are _NOT_ "supposed" to return billing supervision, while the numbers ending -2455 (BILL) _are_ "intended" to return billing supervision.

At this time, it is expected that the MTS (the ILEC side of MTS-Allstream) will have 431-610-8378/2455.

- Bell-Canada's "Bell-West" is a CLEC in Winnipeg MB;

- Telus Integrated Communications is a CLEC service in Winnipeg MB;

- Allstream (the CLEC and competitive IXC side of MTS-Allstream) has had a presence in Winnipeg MB, long before MTS' 2004/05 purchase of Allstream (legacy AT&T-Canada-LD, legacy Unitel, legacy CNCP);

- but at this time, Rogers does NOT have any service in Manitoba (neither Rogers-CallNet legacy Sprint-Canada/CallNet, nor Rogers Cable);

- however Shaw (Cable-TV, CLEC) provides service in Manitoba.

At this time, I don't know how many other -TEST/BILL numbers will be provided by the various CLECs, nor how other 431-N10 codes for those

-TEST/BILL numbers might "map" to the various CLECs which might choose to provide 431 NPA -TEST/BILL numbers.

SAIC-CNA's webpage for downloadable documents on Manitoba's 204/431 NPA Overlay is:

The CNA/etc. has been preparing a draft Planning Letter which will be eventually finalized and subsequently forwarded to NeuStar-NANPA at a later date for NANPA to upload to their website as a NANP Planning Letter.

More details as they become available.

Mark J. Cuccia markjcuccia at yahoo dot com Lafayette LA, formerly of New Orleans LA pre-Katrina