BILL ANALYSIS
AB 818
Page 1
ASSEMBLY THIRD READING
AB 818 (Knox)
As Amended April 28, 1999
Majority vote
UTILITIES AND COMMERCE 11-0
APPROPRIATIONS 21-0
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|Ayes:|Wright, Pescetti, |Ayes:|Migden, Brewer, Ashburn, |
| |Campbell, Cardenas, | |Battin, Cedillo, Davis, |
| |Frusetta, Maddox, | |Pescetti, Hertzberg, |
| |Mazzoni, Papan, Reyes, | |Kuehl, Maldonado, Papan, |
| |Vincent, Wesson | |Romero, Runner, Shelley, |
| | | |Steinberg, Thomson, |
| | | |Wesson, Wiggins, Wright, |
| | | |Zettel, Aroner |
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SUMMARY : Requires the California Public Utilities Commission
(CPUC) to develop and implement any available measures to
efficiently allocate telephone numbers to California's citizens.
Specifically, this bill :
1)Requires CPUC to develop specified measures aimed at
efficiently allocating telephone numbers.
2)Requires CPUC to request that the Federal Communications
Commission (FCC) delegate specific authority to the states for
the purpose of enabling CPUC to implement specified measures
that would assist in the efficient allocation of telephone
numbers.
3)Requires CPUC to request that telecommunications providers
provide information relating to the number of used and unused
numbers in all telephone prefixes that they posses.
4)Requires CPUC to institute, as an interim measure, that
telecommunications providers assign numbers to their customer
first from prefixes that are more than 25% used, and only from
prefixes with less than 25% use when numbers are not otherwise
available.
EXISTING LAW :
AB 818
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1)Provides in the Telecommunications Act of 1996 (1996 Act) that
FCC has exclusive jurisdiction over the provision of telephone
numbers pursuant to the North American Numbering Plan (NANP).
2)Provides for the North American Numbering Plan Administrator
(NANPA) to notify the telephone industry when area code relief
is required and to initiate and develop an area code relief
plan.
3)Requires CPUC to conduct public hearings in the affected
geographical region prior to implementing a new area code to
inform members of the public about the proposed area code
relief options.
FISCAL EFFECT : CPUC estimates first-year costs from the Utility
Reimbursement Account of $235,000, including one-time costs of
$150,000 for programming, and costs of $170,000 in the second
and third years for three staff positions to collect and analyze
data for the required audit and to review company performance
for compliance with CPUC rules on assignment of telephone
numbers.
COMMENTS : California has experienced a significant increase in
the number of area codes in the last few years. In fact, the
number of area codes in California has doubled since 1991. The
increase in the number of area codes has caused confusion and
frustration among telephone customers. Additionally, business
consumers have been both inconvenienced and financially impacted
by the need to purchase new letterhead, business cards, and
notify customers and contacts of their new telephone numbers.
Within each geographic area of the United States, area codes are
assigned by an administrator that is responsible for assigning
central office codes to itself and other carriers. Those codes
are then used to distribute telephone numbers to customers.
Today, telephone numbers are only assigned in blocks of 10,000
to the telecommunications service providers who request them.
CPUC noted that "this is true whether the service provider has
10 customers or 9,500 customers in the area served by that block
of 10,000 numbers." Last year, CPUC challenged an order of FCC
that specifically forbade the states from exploring
opportunities to allocate numbers in a more efficient manner.
The 1996 Act delegated full jurisdiction over "numbering "
AB 818
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issues to FCC. FCC has delegated to the states limited
authority to implement area code relief by doing one of the
following: a) ordering an area code split; b) ordering an
overlay; or, c) realignment of an existing area code boundary.
This bill recognizes that FCC has the final jurisdiction in this
area. Thus, this bill requires CPUC to seek delegated authority
to provide certain additional relief such as: a) establishing
minimum use measures; b) returning unused numbers; and, c)
establishing individual number pooling, mandatory number pooling
in 1000 telephone number blocks, and interim unassigned number
pooling. This bill is consistent with the sort of relief being
requested in U.S. Senate Bill 765 (R-Collins), introduced in the
United States Congress, which urges FCC to delegate such
authority to state commissions.
In an effort to address these issues at the earliest possible
opportunity, CPUC has already filed a petition to FCC seeking
authority to pursue several telephone code conservation measures
and efficient number use practices, consistent with the relief
sought by the author of this bill. CPUC, in its desire to seek
additional relief, has also filed a petition that seeks a waiver
to implement a technology specific area code.
This bill also requires CPUC to require that telephone providers
begin to use numbers currently assigned to them more
efficiently. As an interim measure, this could have the effect
of stalling the introduction of new area codes. This bill also
instructs CPUC to conduct an audit of telephone industry use
rates and submit its report to the Legislature on or before July
1, 2002. The information obtained through this study will give
CPUC significant data to use in developing and implementing
additional measures to support the efficient allocation of
telephone numbers in California.
Analysis Prepared by : Carolyn Veal-Hunter / U. & C. / (916)
319-2083
FN: 0001141