Paul Strauus, wd6eby, and technical contributor to SBARC voices concerns about area code changes.
By Tom Kisken of the Ventura County Star Posted: 6:47 p.m. 0
Plans to add a new area code to the 805 mean Paul Strauss may one day have to dial 11 digits to call someone who lives next door.
That seems like a step backward to the Camarillo resident who spoke Monday at an Oxnard public hearing on a proposal that could be implemented in 2018.
"It's like we're catering to the technology instead of the technology catering to the individual," said Strauss, who is 62. "… It's my generation that's going to have the hardest time with this."
The hearing focused on the dwindling prefixes available in the three-plus county region that currently uses an 805 area code that dates back to 1957.
Only 40 of 792 prefixes are left and they are expected to run out by the middle of 2018. That means a change in area code is unavoidable, said Joe Cocke, of the North American Numbering Plan Administration, which administers phone numbers in 20 countries, including the United States.
In the plan called an overlay and proposed by the telecommunications industry, people who currently use 805 would keep it. People who move to the region beginning in mid-2018 or who want to add lines could be assigned a new, still unknown area code.
A final decision from the California Public Utilities Commission, which organized Monday's hearing, is likely to come next year and be implemented before the prefixes are dialed out.
But the overlay means people would have to dial 10 digits with every phone call. On land lines, people would also have to dial a 1. The cost of the call would not be affected.
The extra dialing is a concern for some.
"The seven (digits) is bad enough," said Pat Brown, 75, of Oxnard, relating decades of telephone experience that date back to the days when operators connected local calls. "This overlay is going to be horrendous."
Brown suggested a better alternative that involves splitting off part of the 805 and assigning it a new area code.
But splitting an area code into two has become almost obsolete. The last split nationwide was nine years ago with California's most recent split coming 12 years ago.
In addition to technical problems that could temporarily affect text messages, a split means people have to change their phone numbers. That can carry a financial punch for some, said Cocke.
"It hurts a business if they have to change their phone number," he said.
Linda Calderon, 75, of Oxnard, said she supports the overlay in part because she does not want to change her phone number or her business cards.
Ten-digit dialing is routine for cellphone users, noted Jerome Candelaria, of the California Cable and Telecommunications Association.
"It appears that having to change the area code is more disruptive than having to dial the digits," he said.
Matt Dorros, of Simi Valley, questioned whether any change was needed. He said phone companies hoard prefixes that, if used properly, could extend the life of the current 805 indefinitely.
"I have counted an unbelievable number of ghost prefixes in the 805," he said, referring to numbers allegedly not assigned to anyone.
Cocke said a system of checks and balances is aimed at preventing any hoarding. He said phone and cable companies have to prove a legitimate need for new prefixes.
He said many of the so-called ghost prefixes are likely used for machine-to-machine communication, including Wi-Fi connections, faxes, medical devices and alarm systems.
Others at the public hearing asked about language barriers in making sure the county's Mixteco population is aware of the changes coming in 2018. Brenda Birdwell, of the Braille Institute, asked officials to consider the importance of phones to people without sight.
"It is their lifeline to the community," she said.
A public hearing on the area code was also held in Santa Barbara Monday night with a session scheduled for Tuesday morning in San Luis Obispo.
The next step will be the formal application for an area code before the public utilities commission. That could happen later this year with a decision by the commission possible by the middle of next year.
For more information on submitting opinions or concerns about the planned changes, go to http://bit.ly/2bANljm.