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ARCHIVED - Public Notice CRTC 2000-36

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Public Notice CRTC 2000-36

Ottawa, 10 March 2000

Comments solicited for solution to telephone number exhaust in southern British Columbia

Reference: 8698-C12-06/00
This public notice seeks input to identify solutions to create a new telephone area code for parts of southern British Columbia. A sub-committee of the CRTC Industry Steering Committee has advocated a new area code be introduced by mid-2002 within the 604 area code serving Vancouver, the Sunshine Coast and Fraser Valley. The committee recommends a "distributed overlay" area code should be used within the 604 region where phone numbers are forecast to exhaust in about three years. Parties wishing to comment on this and other proposals contained in this public notice are asked to respond within 30 days of its release.
1. In August 1999, Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC) Canada, in its role as the Canadian Numbering Administrator (CNA), announced that area code 604 is projected to exhaust by the first quarter of 2004. The CNA called for the establishment of a Numbering Plan Area (NPA or area code) relief planning committee to develop a relief plan. The CNA also prepared and distributed an initial planning document identifying a number of alternatives for implementing a new area code, for consideration by the affected parties.
2. On 3 December 1999, the Commission released Telecom Public Notice CRTC 99-24, announcing the establishment of the NPA 604 Relief Planning Committee as an ad hoc committee of the CRTC Industry Steering Committee (CISC). The public notice invited interested parties to participate in meetings to develop recommendations for an area code exhaust solution.
3. The committee examined the benefits and drawbacks to each relief method described below and recommends acceptance of the distributed overlay model.
4. The committee participated in a Special NPA 604 Central Code Utilization Survey (COCUS) to confirm the projected exhaust date. COCUS seeks input from all service providers in the 604 area code regarding the actual number of central office (CO) codes assigned to each carrier, as well as their five-year forecast. A special COCUS involves collecting the data at the exchange level, as opposed to the area code level. All inputs are verified by the CNA and the aggregate results were utilized by the ad hoc committee to project the overall exhaust date of the area code.
5. The CISC NPA 604 Ad Hoc Committee reached consensus on the projected exhaust window, the tentative timing for introducing the new area code and the relief method.
6. The consensus position of the NPA Relief Planning Committee was confirmed by the CISC on 21 January 2000.
7. Based on the results of the special COCUS undertaken by the CNA, the ad hoc committee agreed that area code 604 is projected to exhaust in the second quarter of 2003, which is a year earlier than the 1999 COCUS forecast.
8. All existing CO code holders, as well as potential local exchange carriers, provided input to this survey. The ad hoc committee recommends that relief be provided in the second quarter of 2002, one year prior to the exhaust date projected by the special COCUS.
The NPA Relief Planning Committee considered the following four relief options:

Municipality split

9. This option would retain NPA 604 for Burnaby, Vancouver and New Westminster, with the remaining municipalities transferring to a new area code. It would require a change in telephone number (area code) for approximately 1.1 million subscribers. Implementation of 10-digit local dialing would be required on local calls between subscribers in the old and new area codes.

Vancouver exchange split

10. The Vancouver exchange - the municipality of Vancouver and a major portion of Burnaby - would retain area code 604, with the remainder of the existing coverage area transferring to the new NPA. This option would require a change in telephone number (area code) for approximately 1.6 million subscribers. Implementation of 10-digit local dialing would be required on local calls between subscribers in the old and new area codes.

Split boundary realignment

11. This option advocates the existing area code splitting into two geographic areas, with Vancouver exchange retaining area code 604, the remainder of the existing coverage area transferring to the new NPA, and the transfer of Vancouver Island from its current area code (NPA 250) to the new area code. This option would require a change in telephone number (area code) for approximately 2.1 million subscribers. Implementation of 10-digit local dialing would be required on local calls between subscribers in the old and new area codes.

Distributed overlay

12. This option would introduce a new area code in the same geographic coverage area as the existing NPA 604. With this relief plan, no subscribers are required to change their telephone number (area code); however, implementation of 10-digit local dialing would be required on all local calls. The ad hoc committee recommends introducing the new area code as a distributed overlay.
13. Parties wishing to examine the initial planning documents and/or the meeting records of the CISC NPA 604 Ad Hoc Committee can do so by accessing the CNA's website at http://www.cnac.ca/npa_data.htm or by contacting the office of the Canadian Numbering Administrator at (613) 563-7242.
14. The Commission seeks comment from interested parties on the consensus report described above, developed by the CISC NPA 604 Relief Planning Committee and its ad hoc committee.

Procedure

15. Parties wishing to participate in this proceeding, who have not already registered with the Commission pursuant to PN 99-24, must notify the Commission of their intention to do so by 31 March 2000 The Commission will establish a new list of interested parties.
16. Parties may file comments with the Commission, serving copies on all other parties, by 10 April 2000.
17. All parties may file reply comments, serving copies on all parties, by 9 May 2000.
18. Where a document is to be filed or served by a specific date, the document must be actually received, not merely sent, by that date.
19. In addition to hard copy filings, parties are encouraged to file with the Commission electronic versions of their submissions in accordance with the Commission's Interim Telecom Guidelines for the Handling of Machine-Readable Files, dated 30 November 1995. The Commission's Internet email address for electronically filed documents is procedure.telecom@crtc.gc.ca. Electronically filed documents can be accessed at the Commission's Internet site at http://www.crtc.gc.ca.
20. The applications may be examined, or will be made available promptly upon request, at the CRTC offices at the following addresses:
Central Building
Les Terrasses de la Chaudière
1 Promenade du Portage, Room G-5
Hull, Quebec K1A ON2
Tel: (819) 997-2429 - TDD: 994-0423
FAX: (819) 994-0218
530-580 Hornby Street
Vancouver, British Columbia V6C 3B6
Tel: (604) 666-2111 - TDD: 666-0778
FAX: (604) 666-8322
SecretaryGeneral
This notice is available in alternate format upon request and may also be viewed at the following Internet site: http://www.crtc.gc.ca
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