Official Urges Halt on Plans for Area Code Overlay

A state utilities commissioner released a recommendation Thursday that would halt plans for a proposed area code overlay and 11-digit dialing in West Los Angeles and the South Bay.

The recommendation, issued in the form of a draft decision by Public Utilities Commissioner Joel Hyatt, calls on the telecommunications industry to allocate numbers in blocks of 1,000 rather than 10,000 and that all those numbers be assigned before more are issued.

It also requires a study to determine how many previously allocated numbers are in use and directs phone companies to return unused numbers and place them in a single pool for redistribution.

“I’m convinced that the commission can protect residents and consumers in the Los Angeles area without requiring the overlay,” Hyatt said. “We still need the Federal Communications Commission to give us authority to implement some of what I propose, but we’ve made a good case.”

Hyatt’s proposal directly opposes a rival draft decision by Commissioner Henry Duque last month that would pursue plans for an area code overlay in the 310 region.

Duque said public opposition came too late to avoid change in the 310 area, where many phone companies have already acquired numbers.

The five-member PUC board will consider both proposals--and possibly others--at its Sept. 16 meeting. At the same meeting, the board will consider an administrative law judge’s recommendation to create a new area code in the San Fernando Valley by splitting the 818 code.