Calabasas 747 area code takes off





Due to a shortage of 818 area code telephone numbers, the California Public Utilities Commission has voted to create an overlay map for Calabasas and surrounding areas that now use the 818 area code. In other words, all customers who currently use the 818 area code will keep it, but beginning in May, 2009, new customers will be assigned a 747 area code.

The discussion of an overlay came after administrators announced that the alloted quota of 818 phone numbers would run out by the third quarter of next year.

The 818 code was put into service in 1984.

“The 818 is going to exhaust by 2009 due in part to the increasing population in the San Fernando Valley and Southern California as a whole,” said Susan Carothers, a public information officer for the CPUC.

“The proliferation of cellphones, BlackBerrys and other telecommunication devices is also an issue,” Carothers said.

Last year the Calabasas City Council informed the CPUC that it wouldn’t mind splitting the 818 area into two codes, but only if Calabasas retained its 818 designation. If it couldn’t remain in the 818 zone then the city said it wanted the overlay- the process of assigning the new area code to new numbers only.

“We knew it was a long shot when we testified in front of the PUC that we wanted to remain an 818 area code only,” Calabasas Mayor Mary Sue Maurer said. “Their decision to allow current residents and businesses to maintain their existing 818 prefix is a much better alternative to having us all convert to a new area code, which would have been an economic hardship on our businesses community.”

All calls within the current 818 area will require 11-digit dialing. Callers will need to dial 1 plus the area code plus the phone number, regardless of whether the call is to a house in the same neighborhood or to a location in the San Fernando Valley. For about six months, 11-digit dialing will be optional; in a year it will become mandatory.

Prior to approving the area code overlay, the CPUC held public meetings in Calabasas, Burbank, San Fernando and Van Nuys. Overall, the CPUC received 741 statements of preferences and comments, of which 442 supported the overlay, 199 favored a geographic split and 100 did not indicate a preference.

The 818 area code was geographically split from the 213 area code and split again in 1997 when the 626 code was created.

It’s about the same size as the 310 and 714 area codes.

The CPUC voted to split the area code again in 1999, a controversial decision that resulted in litigation. There were differing opinions as to where boundaries would be drawn and which communities would get the new area code.

Initially, customers in the northeast region would retain the 818 area code and those in the southwest region, including Calabasas, would start using 747. By conserving the amount of numbers it assigned, the CPUC was able to extend the life of the 818 code through 2009.

“I philosophically support overlays as the correct solution to telephone number shortages in California based on the factual records that have been developed,” said CPUC Commissioner Timothy Alan Simon. “An overlay also results in the least amount of costs being allocated to consumers and businesses in the affected areas.”

For more information, visit www.cpuc.ca.gov.


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