NEW AREA CODE, FEW HANG-UPS; SANTA CLARITA VALLEY, NEIGHBORS TAKING COMING SWITCH IN STRIDE.

Byline: Mary Schubert Daily News Staff Writer

In a little more than a year from now, the 805 area code that has been part of the identity of northern Los Angeles County will be replaced by three new numbers, to be announced next month.

What the new area code for the Santa Clarita Valley, Antelope Valley and Kern County will be is anyone's guess. Apparently, the people who make those decisions don't take requests - even from the communities that will be stuck with the number for an estimated 15 years.

Last week, the California Public Utilities Commission announced that Ventura, Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties will be keeping the 805 area code, while the inland valleys and Kern County will get a new area code in February 1999.

The new area code will be announced Dec. 8 by the California Code Administration, an independent planning group that works with the telecommunications industry.

Santa Clarita Mayor Clyde Smyth said he hasn't given much thought to the new area code. Whatever numbers are selected, he said, he'll get used to it.

``I'm sure people might have preferences about what three-digit number they would like,'' Smyth said. ``I would hope it is diverse enough from 805 that there is a clear distinction.''

Over at the Santa Clarita Valley Chamber of Commerce, Executive Vice President Cheryl Adams said she hasn't heard local business owners voice any preferences about the numbers in the region's new area code.

``Given enough notice and enough time, we'll just do business,'' Adams said. ``I don't know that there's any (number combination) that sounds easier than another.''

Gradually, people just accept the change as they grow accustomed to it, Adams said. ``It's sort of like the license plate (numbers and letters) on our cars.''

By the end of December, California will have 18 area codes. Five of those codes have been added during 1997 alone, and they are a departure from the area code system introduced in 1947. For decades, the middle number of every area code in the United States was 0 or 1.

But as computers, fax machines, cellular phones and pagers gobbled up the supply of phone numbers, scores of new area codes have been created nationwide. The area codes that debuted this year in California have been 562, 760, 626, 650 and 530, which, unless one knows otherwise, would seem to be telephone prefixes.

Currently, the 805 area code serves 5.1 million telephone numbers, said Kyle Devine, a spokeswoman for the Public Utilities Commission. Area codes have a capacity for 7.9 million phone numbers, she noted.

``It's growing at an annual rate of 800,000 numbers. By late 1999, 805 will run out of new numbers,'' Devine said.

In February 1999, callers may begin using the new area code. There will be a six-month introductory period to acquaint people with the area code, but by August 1999, callers must dial the new area code for their call to be put through, Devine said.

Still, there will be an additional three-month period during which callers who dial the 805 area code will hear a recording that informs them about the new area code. But after November 1999, the transition will be complete, the referral message will cease and that phone number ``could be reassigned to someone else,'' Devine said.

There are 792 prefixes available for use in each area code, and 10,000 possible telephone number combinations in every prefix, Devine said.

Public utility officials estimate the new area code will last until about 2014, Devine added.