State officials concerned about possible area code overload

With the increasing demand for new communications technology such as pagers and cell phones, two of the four Indiana area codes are in jeopardy of running out of numbers. \nThe 219 area code has been in danger of exhausting all of its available numbers for the past two years. Now, the 317 code is also at risk.\nState officials said Wednesday the 317 area code, which serves the Indianapolis area, is running out of numbers. \nAlthough it has not yet been made public, the North American Numbering Plan Administration will file a formal request for relief to the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission on behalf of the telecommunications industry. Frank Colaco, a senior area code relief planner for NANPA, said it should be sent by early February. \nThe 317 code was separated from the 765 area code in February 1997. \nBut because of corporate growth and personal demand for communications devices, there's already need for relief, said John Koppin, president of the Indiana Telecommunications Association.\nAlong with northern Indiana's shrinking 219 area code, the Indianapolis predicament is part of a nationwide problem of number exhaustion affecting major metropolitan areas such as Chicago, Los Angeles, Atlanta and much of the Eastern Seaboard, Koppin said.\nCommunications companies are affected because they cannot create new phone lines for homes, businesses and cell phones. \n"There's an area in Massachusetts where their problem still hasn't been resolved," Koppin said. "It's in limbo and is now an emergency situation." \nIn Indiana, there are no numbers available west of SR 31, Koppin said.\n"We told the commission we needed a decision in eight months, and it's going on two years now," said Koppin.\nThe Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission has been at work trying to resolve the issue, said spokeswoman Mary Beth Fisher. But the agency has not yet arrived at a decision. \n Koppin said there have been rumors in the industry that a decision would come in the first fiscal quarter of 2001. But, hoping for a solution in a few months, Koppin said he doesn't believe that will happen.\n"It's hard to say," he said.\nThe state regulatory commission has been working on finding the best solution for all parties.\nKoppin said the two solutions to any area code problem are an overlay and a split. A split is where a portion of the state receives a new area code and new numbers; a process he described as expensive. \nAn overlay allows residents and businesses get to keep their original numbers and any new numbers receive the new area code. The downside, he said, is that it forces consumers to use 10-digits when calling either area code. \nThe most commonly used solution is an overlay, and 18 of the 19 last area code changes nationwide have used that option, according to the Indiana Telecommunications Association.\nThe Indiana Office of Utility Consumer Counselor opposes an overlay, said spokesman Anthony Swinger. In a survey, the office found that 78 percent of the public rejected the idea. According to the study, 70 percent of Indiana businesses took the same position. \nIf the 219 area code were to be split, the numbers of 400,000 consumers would be changed. \nIn the majority of the areas where the overlay is implemented, Koppin said consumers have adjusted quickly. But the implementation process is what gets sticky, he said. It can turn into a fight between cities to determine who is forced to change, as was with the 765 situation. \n"Whenever you draw the line you have a major metropolitan area being affected, and that's a political issue," Koppin said.\nTo its advantage, Koppin said this affects fewer people, which is why he believes an overlay would be effective for both the 219 and 317 areas. \nWhen numbering plan administration files their formal recommendation, Colaco said the industry will support an overlay in the 317 area. \n"A split really didn't work out because (geographically) it's not a practical solution," he said. \nWhatever solution is decided for either area code, it will be an inconvenience to some consumers.\n"New area codes are a fact of life in our business," Koppin said. "We're going to continue seeing growth in the industry, which is going to require even more changes"