LOS ANGELES-Unpredicted demand for wireless telephone numbers in the Los Angeles area has forced Pacific Bell to introduce an overlay area code.
In September 1995, new cellular and paging customers in the 310 area code will be given area code 562. Pacific Bell said it hopes that existing wireless customers won’t have to change from 310 to 562.
“If the wireless companies were to immediately begin redirecting half their new growth to other area codes, this could be the first area code to go into service without requiring existing customers to change numbers,” said Linda Bonniksen, a Pacific Bell spokeswoman.
The move will increase the incidence of 10-digit dialing for all customers, but that already is common in Southern California and expected to become even more prevalent, Bonniksen noted.
Area codes contain about 8 million numbers. Area code 310 has only about 2 million numbers available.
The company’s original forecasts of demand have been quickly outstripped by reality. Six years ago, wireless only accounted for about 12 percent of newly assigned telephone numbers in the Los Angeles area. Now, about 64 percent of new numbers are for cellular and paging customers-twice as many as predicted, the company states.
Area code 562 could be extended into areas served by area codes 213 and 818 if growth in those area codes continues. Pacific Bell expects to pay about $2 million for the plan.