Public Service Commission
Capital Circle Office Center 2540 Shumard Oak Boulevard
Tallahassee, Florida 32399-0850

~~State of Florida~~		~~Public Service Commission~~ Capital Circle Office Center ● 2540 Shumard Oak Boulevard Tallahassee, Florida 32399-0850 ~~-M-E-M-O-R-A-N-D-U-M-~~
DATE:	February 23, 2006
TO:	Director, Division of the Commission Clerk & Administrative Services (Bayó)
FROM:	Division of Competitive Markets & Enforcement (Maduro, Casey, Bulecza-Banks) Office of the General Counsel (Tan, Wiggins)
RE:	Docket No. 981444-TP – Number Utilization Study: Investigation into Number Conservation Measures.
AGENDA:	03/07/06 – Regular Agenda – Procedural Matter - Interested Persons May Participate
CRITICAL DATES:			None
SPECIAL INSTRUCTIONS:			None
FILE NAME AND LOCATION:			S:\PSC\CMP\WP\981444.RCM.DOC

On October 29, 1998, this docket was established by staff to address various telephone number conservation measures. Between 1995 and 1999, the Florida Public Service Commission (PSC) implemented a total of nine new area codes in Florida. Recognizing the increasing demand for telephone numbers along with the high population growth being experienced in Florida, the PSC, on April 2, 1999, petitioned the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) for an Expedited Decision for Authority to Implement Number Conservation Measures to optimize the use of numbering resources. The FCC, agreeing that the area code situation in Florida was critical, granted the PSC’s petition on September 15, 1999[1]. The grant of additional authority, among other things, allowed the PSC to implement state number pooling trials, consolidate rate centers, and reclaim unused or unneeded telephone numbers.

Through the Commission’s pro-active number conservation measures, the Commission has saved over 13,540,000 telephone numbers through number pooling[2], reclaimed over two million unused or unneeded telephone numbers[3], and consolidated seven rate centers into one in the Keys[4]. These actions have helped extend the life of each of Florida’s seventeen area codes, saving consumers the expense and inconvenience of having to experience a new area code. The Commission has not had to address area code relief since 2002. The next anticipated exhaust date for an area code is 2009 for the 305 area code in the Keys, and the 407/321 area code in central Florida, both of which have already been addressed by the Commission.[5]

As part of managing numbering resources in Florida, staff monitors the number utilization of carriers in Florida. The North American Numbering Plan Administrator (NANPA) maintains a database of all numbering resources and the current utilization of each block of numbers. Historically, NANPA would copy the Florida utilization data on a compact disk and send it to the PSC. Since this information is confidential, this docket was kept open to maintain this compact disk as confidential information by the Clerk’s office. Subsequently, NANPA developed an on-line utilization database system to allow state commissions to review utilization data by using a special password to enter their system. With this new system, there is no longer a need for NANPA to send the PSC a utilization disk, and there is no longer a need to keep this docket open. There are no pending issues in this docket that need to be addressed by the Commission and no further agency action is required. Therefore, staff is recommending that this docket be closed.

Discussion of Issues

Issue 1: Should this docket be closed?

Recommendation: Yes. There are no pending issues in this Docket that need to be addressed by the Commission and no further agency action is required. Therefore, this docket should be closed. (Tan, Wiggins, Maduro, Casey, Bulecza-Banks)

Staff Analysis: There are no pending issues in this Docket that need to be addressed by the Commission and no further agency action is required. Therefore, this docket should be closed.

[1] FCC 99-249, Florida Public Service Commission Petition to Federal Communications Commission for Expedited Decision for Grant of Authority to Implement Number Conservation Measures, CC Docket No. 96-98, NSF File No. L-99-23 (rel. September 15, 1999)

[2] Thousands-block number pooling is the process by which telephone companies share a pool of telephone numbers that have the same central office code. Historically, telephone numbers have been assigned to service providers in blocks of 10,000 numbers. Thousands-block number pooling allows phone numbers to be allocated to service providers in blocks of 1,000, instead of the historical 10,000 number blocks, which conserves numbers and provides for more efficient number utilization.

[3] A central office code is subject to be reclaimed and returned to inventory if it is not activated within six months of being assigned, and the carrier cannot provide the Commission a reason for extension of the reclamation date. The Commission authorized staff to administer the number reclamation process at the October 17, 2000, Internal Affairs.

[4] By Order No. PSC-00-1937-PAA-TL, issued October 20, 2000, in Docket No. 990455-TL, the Commission ordered rate center consolidation in the Keys, consolidating the Big Pine Key, Marathon, Islamorada, North Key Largo, Key Largo, Sugarloaf Key, and Key West rate centers into one rate center, now known as the Keys. Although protests to the PAA regarding rate center consolidation were received, BellSouth and the Office of Public Counsel entered into a stipulation to implement rate center consolidation in the Keys. By Order PSC-01-0091-PAA-TL, issued January 10, 2001, the Commission approved the stipulation.

[5] By Order No. PSC-00-1937-PAA-TL, issued October 20, 2000, in Docket No. 990455-TL, the Commission approved an area code relief plan for the Keys which would expand the current 786 area code in the Miami-Dade area over the Keys. However, the Commission did not set an implementation date for this in order that the Keys be able to keep seven-digit dialing for as long as possible. Number conservation measures in the Keys have now moved the estimated exhaust date of the 305 area code in the Keys to 2009. By Order No. PSC-02-0405-FOF-TL, issued March 25, 2002, in Docket No. 010743-TL, issued March 25, 2002, the Commission approved area code relief in the form of a new overlay area code (689) for the 407/321 area codes in central Florida. Number conservation measures have been able to defer implementation of the new 689 area code to 2009.