CPUC Scraps Area Code Borders in L.A.
Facing phone number exhaustion in the 323 area code by Q2, the California Public Utilities Commission signed off Thursday on a plan to remove a boundary between two area codes in Los Angeles. By allowing 213 and 323 to be…
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used in the same geographic region, the CPUC took a different approach to traditional area code overlays where a new code is added to an existing geographic area, it said in a news release. Customers will retain existing phone numbers, but starting July 2017 will be required to dial 1 plus the three-digit area code for all calls to and from 213 and 323 area codes, CPUC said. The North American Numbering Plan Administrator came up with the plan “because of the unique geography of the 323 area code,” CPUC said. “Alternatives, such as an overlay for just the 323 or a further split of the 323 area code, were not considered as both would require the introduction of a third area code in Los Angeles.” CPUC ordered a public education plan to explain the overlay to users.