747 TO LAND ON TOP OF VALLEY'S 818 PLAN B: 2ND AREA CODE CUTS THE REGION IN HALF.

Byline: HARRISON SHEPPARD

Sacramento Bureau

Forget living in "The 818." Overwhelmed by demand for new lines, the telephone area code that has defined the San Fernando Valley for more than two decades is quickly running out.

And the California Public Utilities Commission now is considering adding a 747 area code to the Valley because the remaining 818 numbers are expected to be used up within the next two years.

Options include dividing the Valley geographically into two area-code zones, roughly along east-west lines, or simply assigning the new 747 code to all new phone lines no matter where they are in the Valley.

But the plans came as a shock Thursday to many Valley officials and activists who have long touted 818 as a virtual symbol of the Valley's unique identity and who had no idea a Valley 747 was in the works.

"One would hope that the PUC would be reaching out to local business groups on a policy change as significant as this," said Brendan Huffman, president of the Valley Industry and Commerce Association.

"But you can't rely on governmental agencies to always do that, especially when they're located in Northern California."

Susan Carothers, spokeswoman for the commission, said the agency plans to publicize the plan soon and has scheduled a series of public hearings in the Valley next month.

But while Valley residents' comments are welcome, there is virtually nothing that can stop the new area code from coming, and the hearings will focus more on how to implement it rather than whether it is necessary.

Carothers said the change is driven by the region's growing population and the proliferation of multiple electronic devices that require additional phone lines.

"Times have changed dramatically in California," she said. "We now have 37 million people. Everybody and their brother has a cell phone, a fax, a pager.

"Some have two or three telephone lines. They all require area codes and prefixes, so it's no surprise that they would be running short."

The change, however, is expected to generate strident opposition from residents who don't want to have to dial 11 digits to reach their neighbors and from business owners who don't want to reprogram all their machines and print new stationery.

There are also some who just feel the lone area code of 818 helps define the Valley as a single, unified region.

"We have fought to have our own census district, our own statistical district -- all these things we've been fighting for to make the Valley a unique place," said City Councilwoman Wendy Greuel. "This would challenge that ability."

The 818 area code was created in 1984 when the Valley was split from the Los Angeles 213 code. Some longtime community residents recall few protests at the time, in part because Valley people saw the code as a reflection that their area was developing its own identity.

In popular culture, 818 has sometimes been used as a shorthand moniker for the Valley itself.

The projection that the Valley will run out of 818 numbers by late 2009 comes from the North American Numbering Plan Administration. The service is operated by Virginia-based NeuStar Inc. and oversees the national telephone numbering system.

And this is not the first time the administration has made such a projection about 818. In 1999-2000, the PUC also considered adding 747 to the Valley, based on administration projections that 818 would be exhausted within a year or two.

But local residents loudly protested, and lawmakers forced state and federal officials to admit there were thousands of numbers still within 818 that were sitting around unused.

At the time, federal rules called for numbers to be allocated to phone companies an entire prefix at a time, meaning a block of 10,000 numbers. In many cases, smaller carriers needed only 500 or 1,000 numbers per prefix, leaving large chunks simply unassigned, yet unavailable to other carriers.

Amid the protests, the federal government changed the rules so numbers are now allocated in blocks of 1,000. The PUC then backed off its proposed 818 split.

City Councilman Richard Alarcon, a former state lawmaker who helped fight the earlier 818 split, said that experience has led him to question the need this time, too.

"I recognize that the changes are necessary over time, but they must make a solid case," Alarcon said. "Given the experience seven years ago, people should be skeptical."

Alarcon said he plans to ask the city's chief legislative analyst to track the issue and report to the council.

But some telecommunications experts say an 818 split may now be inevitable because the numbers truly are being exhausted, and there is no easy fix this time.

Jerome Candelaria, vice president of the California Cable & Telecommunications Association, said the industry tried seven years ago to get numbers allocated individually, rather than in blocks of 1,000.

That would have helped small cable companies trying to offer telephone service in competition with phone giants like AT&T.

But the federal government determined that 1,000 was the smallest feasible block because of technical reasons, and Candelaria said his group and others have not been able to disprove that finding.

That means the latest projections of the need for another area code in the Valley are likely to be correct.

"I don't have any reason to question whether NeuStar is accurately depicting what is needed," Candelaria said.

harrison.sheppard(at)dailynews.com

[phone]

818 meetings

The California Public Utilities Commission will hold a series of public meetings on the proposed area-code change:

Oct. 22

1:30 p.m., Glendale City Council Chambers, 613 E. Broadway, Room 210.

7 p.m., Buena Vista Library's public meeting room, 300 N. Buena Vista St., Burbank.

Oct. 23

1:30 p.m., Las Virgenes Municipal Water District board meeting room, 4232 Las Virgenes Road, Calabasas.

7 p.m., San Fernando City Council chambers, 117 N. Macneil St., San Fernando.

Oct. 24

7 p.m., Marvin Braude Constituent Service Center, 6262 Van Nuys Blvd., Room 1-B, Van Nuys.

Frequently asked questions

Q Why is another area code needed?

A: Available

numbers in the 818 area are limited and cannot support growing demand.

Q What will

the new area code be?

A: 747

Q Will calls between a 747 area code and an 818 area code be considered long distance?

A: Calls that were local before the area code change will remain local calls. The distance, time of day and length of a call determine the price of a call.

Q When would the change take effect?

A: Typically such change takes at least one year after approval.

For more Q&A, see Page 24

Frequently asked questions

Q What are the options for the new area code?

A: Essentially splitting the region in some way and assigning only one area code in each section. Under this plan, some people would retain the 818 area code while others would change to 747.

Another option is an overlay that typically adds a second area code to the same geographic region. Under this plan, multiple area codes would co-exist within the same geographic region. After the 818 numbers are exhausted, all future new phone numbers would be given 747 area codes.

Q Will I be affected by the change?

A: All phone users in the 818 area code will be affected. If an area code split is implemented, some users will have to change their area code to 747. If an overlay is implemented, users will be able to retain their current telephone number and area code, but will need to dial 1 plus the area code and the telephone number for all calls.

Q Will the way I dial my calls change?

A: No, if an area code split is implemented. Yes, if an area code overlay is implemented. Individuals must dial 1 plus the area code and the telephone number for all calls. Even if you are calling next door or within the same building, you must dial 1 plus the area code and the telephone number.

-- California Public Utilities Commission

CAPTION(S):

3 boxes, map

Box:

(1) 818 meetings (see text)

(2 -- 3) Frequently asked questions (see text)

Map:

Area code option

SOURCE: California Public Utilities Commission

Gregg Miller/Staff Artist