WASHINGTON-Wireless carriers were largely exempted, for now, from rules adopted last Friday by the Federal Communications Commission to establish thousand-number block pooling in an effort to reduce the ever-increasing need for new area codes.
Thousand-number block pooling would change the way numbers are allocated and could slow the exhaustion time for area codes. Today, numbers are allocated in 10,000-number blocks but some carriers do not use all of the numbers in the blocks they are allocated so a regime is being readied that would allow for carriers to turn back unused 100-number blocks which could then be allocated to other carriers.
Thousand-number block pooling is a popular idea with state regulators, many of whom have asked for interim authority to implement the idea. Indeed, the FCC has granted interim authority to 10 states and it is considering requests from 19 additional states. Thousand-number block pooling also is popular with some members of Congress. Last year, Rep. Charles Bass (R-N.H.) attempted to amend the FCC spending bill to allow states to implement number pooling. However, the measure failed.
The wireless industry contends number pooling and wireless local number portability are technically difficult and have resisted implementing them. The FCC has given the wireless industry a reprieve from implementing LNP until Nov. 24, 2002. For roaming to be nationwide, the wireless industry believes all wireless carriers must implement LNP at the same time. In contrast, the wireline industry is phasing in LNP.
Both trade associations representing wireless carriers were pleased that wireless carriers will not be required to implement thousand-number pooling until after they implement LNP.
Additionally, the FCC is asking the industry to comment on whether the industry should be given even more time to implement thousand-number pooling.
As part of implementing thousand-number block pooling, the FCC will need to choose a pooling administrator. The North American Numbering Council suggested that this be added to the contract with NeuStar. NeuStar is the North American Numbering Plan Administrator and currently assigns 10,000-number blocks, known as NXX codes or exchanges.
Telcordia Technologies Inc.-formerly known as BellCore-said it would be anti-competitive to award the contract to NeuStar without putting it out for competitive bids. The FCC agreed because it said it will choose a pooling administrator based on a competitive bidding process.
After a pooling administrator is chosen, thousand-number pooling will be implemented in three area codes in each of seven numbering regions each quarter.
“In some ways this is a good problem to have … We have spent a lot of time on bandwidth … We are dealing with issues that are equally important as bandwidth … It is high time we revamp this 50-year old process,” said FCC Chairman William Kennard.
The rules also establish nationwide reporting requirements which will “replace the patchwork of state requests,” said Harold Salters, director of government relations for the Personal Communications Industry Association.
The reporting requirements will enable the FCC to monitor more closely the way numbering resources are used within the United States and will link a carrier’s ability to obtain numbering resources more closely to its actual need for telephone numbers to serve its customers.
One of the things that the reporting requirements will do is set national standards for what constitutes a used number. Some carriers claim numbers used for testing show up as used even though they are not assigned to end-users. For this reason it has been estimated that only about 34 percent of the numbers currently assigned are in use.
The rules come at a time when the numbering issue is becoming more complicated by the day as new competitive local exchange carriers apply and receive 10,000-number blocks, which quickly deplete the amount of numbers available in an area code. This requires that an area code either be split or a new area code be given to the same area as an existing one. Overlays could mean a household with a second phone line could have two different area codes. Splits could mean customers have to reprogram phones and print new stationary.
State regulators-which do not have authority over wireless carriers-are often left holding the bag.
The wireless industry has consistently argued it is the most efficient user of telephone numbers and should not be required to live under conservation schemes that favor wireline carriers.
While FCC Commissioner Harold Furchtgott-Roth approved of the adopted system, he said that numbers were priced too low. Indeed, numbers are given to telecommunications carriers free-of-charge.
“I find it a little bit ironic that we are having such a difficulty in coming up with funding for universal service when we have in front of us a resource that could ultimately be used as a funding mechanism for universal service,” said Furchtgott-Roth.
This is an issue the FCC raised in its proposed rules last year but is again revisiting the issue. Apparently, carriers were none too pleased at the prospect of having to pay for something that has previously been free.
It is unclear whether the FCC will implement a system where carriers have to pay to use numbers.
“We had raised the issue in the previous [notice of proposed rule making] NPRM, we have in fact received some comments but we raise it again. It is a tough issue. It needs economic and legal research,” said Yog Varma, deputy chief of the FCC’s Common Carrier Bureau.
