"Forthcoming" 310/424 CA NPA Split - New Developments

"Forthcoming" 310/424 CA NPA Split - New Developments

There are two new (pdf) documents at the Ca.PUC website:

The first (dated 24-Aug-2004) is a draft opinion from Administrative Law Judge Thomas Pulsifer who supports a split at this time, the second (dated 25-Aug-2004) is an alternative draft opinion from Commissioness Loretta Lynch who does NOT support a split at this time. Of course it is up to the Ca.PUC "itself" to decide. These are the same two involved in last year's proposals regarding the 310/424 NPA split, the same basic results (he supported a split to take effect during either 2003 or 2004; she didn't support a split "at the present time"). The Ca.PUC ruled in her favor at that time, it was around September or October 2003 back then, this time of year. Of course, the Ca.PUC did approve the 909/951 NPA Split which is presently in permissive dialing.

The proposed 310 => 310 / 424 NPA split is for the following areas; references to GTE implies VeriZon, references to Bell implies Pac*Bell now part of SBC...

NPA 310 being retained by SEVEN ratecenters in the northern/northwestern part of the existing (pre-split) NPA 310:

(GTE) MAILBU (GTE) SANTA MONICA : SANTA MONICA DA (District Area) (GTE) SANTA MONICA : MAR VISTA DA (District Area) (GTE) WEST LOS ANGELES (Bell) BEVERLY HILLS (Bell) CULVER CITY (Bell) INGLEWOOD

NPA 424 to be used by NINE ratecetenters in the southern/southeastern part of the existing (pre-split) NPA 310: (** NPA 424 to also include Avalon, aka Santa Catalina Island **)

(Bell) EL SEGUNDO (Bell) HAWTHORNE (GTE) REDONDO (Bell) COMPTON : GARDENA DA (District Area) (Bell) TORRANCE (Bell) LOMITA (Bell) SAN PEDRO (Bell) COMPTON : COMPTON DA (District Area) and (Bell) AVALON - aka Santa Catalina Island

If the Pulsifer current timeframe proposal is accepted now, his recommended implementation schedule is:

28-May -2005 Permissive 10-Sept-2005 Mandatory 07-Jan -2006 first activations of "new" 424-NXX c.o.codes

There are also additional dates for "consumer eduction", etc.

AT&T had taken NPA 424 OUT of its 5E-OSPS (simple) 3-digit NPA translation a little over a year ago (I think), but I don't know WHY they would do this, only to have to put 424 back into OSPS 3-digit NPA translations in a few short years......

The test number (and it was still working up until maybe two years ago) that was assigned when it was planned when 424 was to overlay 310 circa Summer 1999, 424-654-0424, worked out of SBC-Pac*Bell's Torrance CA ratecenter/c.o.switch, TRNCCA11DS0 (5ESS) -- apparantly Pac*Bell turned it off -- one of my SoCal friends can dial 1-424-NXX-xxxx into his central office without translations cutting him out before all 1+ten-digits -- tells me that he now gets a vacant code recording, but only AFTER all

1+ten-digits have been dialed....

310-424 is UA (hopefully it will remain that way for now)

310-654 is VC (still that way today per the NANPA lookup) 310-700 is UA (of course) 310-800 and 310-900 are both assigned (no big deal)...

But I have a feeling that the test number will "change" to

424-424-0424, in the same way that 951-800-0951 was changed to 951-951-0951.

As a POTS c.o.code, 909-800 was already assigned back in 4/2001, to San Bernardino which retains 909 in this year's 909/951 split, but California seems to have that policy of having NPA-test- c.o.codes that do NOT "pre-exist" in the old NPA, dating back to the 714/909 NPA split in 1992/93, 909-909-2000; the 415/510 and

310/562 NPA splits of Fall 1991 seemed to have test-c.o.codes that did pre-exist from their respective old NPAs; I don't know when 909-800 necessarily took effect as a POTS code in activation though...

There really aren't that many "VC/available" 310-NXX c.o.codes, according to a search at NANPA's website:

310-425 310-561 310-654 310-961 310-984 310-986 310-988

So it is always possible that 310-654 could be assigned "today" or "anytime soon".

But 310-424 is most certainly 'UA'. Thus, 424-424-0424 (or 424-424-xxxx) will more than likely be the test number c.o.code "whenever" this split does take effect.

I still tend to think that TRNCCA11DS0 5ESS Torrance CA will still be the (SBC-Pac*Bell) c.o.switch providing the recorded greeting announcement for the test number.

As for the time-line, I guess that *IF* the split is approved for implementation "now/soon", the industry (and even the commission itself) will most likely recommend implementation at the END of 2005 rather than the middle of 2005, to give everyone a chance to prepare.

While BellSouth does have 424 opened up in my Seabrook end-office and I tend to think in all New Orleans Metro c.o.switches, it is also possible that other LECs throughout the NANP still need to open up 424 in originating end-office translations. And AT&T needs to put it back into OSPSes but that isn't as "cumbersome" a project as getting all LECs involved in correcting local c.o. switch translations !!!

Anyhow... if 562 had overlaid 310 (and 213 and 818) back in 1995 as was the ORIGINAL proposal (announced as early as March 1994, over ten years ago), I doubt that southern CA would be in the mess it has gotten itself into throughout the later 1990s !!!

Mark J. Cuccia mcuccia (at) tulane (dot) edu New Orleans LA CSA

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