661 AREA CODE ANNOUNCED.Byline: Mary Schubert Daily News Staff Writer Farewell, 805. Hello, 661. The latter three numbers may take a little getting used to, but soon enough they'll be everywhere once they become the new area code for the Santa Clarita Santa Clarita, city (1990 pop. 110,642), Los Angeles co., S Calif., suburb 30 mi (48 km) NW of downtown Los Angeles, on the Santa Clara River; inc. 1987. Situated in the Santa Clara valley and nearby canyons, Santa Clarita includes the former towns of Canyon Country, and Antelope valleys This article is about the Los Angeles County region. For the census-designated place in Wyoming, see Antelope Valley-Crestview, Wyoming. The Antelope Valley . The new 661 area code was announced Monday by the California-Nevada Code Administration, which coordinates and administers area codes on behalf of the telecommunications industry. When it takes effect in February 1999, 661 will become California's 24th area code. The new designation also will cover most of Kern Kern, river, 155 mi (249 km) long, rising in the S Sierra Nevada Mts., E Calif., and flowing south, then southwest to a reservoir in the extreme southern part of the San Joaquin valley. The river has Isabella Dam as its chief facility. County, while most of Ventura, Santa Barbara Santa Barbara (săn'tə bär`brə, –bərə), city (1990 pop. 85,571), seat of Santa Barbara co., S Calif., on the Pacific Ocean; inc. 1850. and San Luis Obispo San Luis Obispo (săn l  `ĭs ōbĭs`pō), city (1990 pop. 41,958), seat of San Luis Obispo co., S Calif., near San Luis Obispo Bay; inc. 1856. counties will retain the 805 area code. Doug Hescox, the California-Nevada code administrator, said there's a formula officials use in selecting a new three-digit code. ``We look at trying to find a number that's not used as a prefix The beginning or to add to the beginning. To prefix a header onto a packet means to place the header characters in front of the packet. "To prefix" at the beginning is the opposite of "to append" characters at the end. See prepend. 1. in that area code,'' he said. In other words Adv. 1. in other words - otherwise stated; "in other words, we are broke" put differently , no phone numbers in the 805 area code begin with the prefix 661. In any given area code, there are 792 number combinations that can be used as prefixes and 10,000 possible telephone number combinations that can be created from each prefix. In the 805 area code, there are more than 100 prefixes that haven't been used - meaning officials had that many number combinations from which to select a new area code. Between now and 1999, when the split takes effect, 661 will be blocked from use as a prefix, Hescox said. In 1995, the telecommunications industry changed its method for assigning area codes - a system that, since its inception, had limited the middle digit of all area codes to ones and zeros. That supply was limited, however, and when number combinations that fit the pattern were used up, a new plan was put into effect whereby any three numbers could be an area code. ``We're adding 35 area codes in the U.S. each year,'' Hescox said, citing population growth and electronic devices like pagers, computer modems, fax machines and cellular phones as the reason area codes have a limited life span. Once the split takes place, Hescox said the 661 area code will last 14 to 17 years, while the 805 area code will have enough capacity to last another nine or 10 years. Currently, the 805 area code serves 5.1 million telephone numbers, according to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. the state Public Utilities Commission. Area codes have a capacity for 7.9 million phone numbers. The 805 area code has been adding an average of 800,000 phone numbers per year, meaning it would have run out of numbers by the end of 1999. CAPTION(S): map Map: (SAC and AV editions only) New 661 area code |
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