Chicago’s northern suburbs would get a new area code by spring under a plan outlined Tuesday to the Illinois Commerce Commission.
The telephone industry has long said the supply of numbers in the 847 region is exhausted. It wants to add another code–224–to supply new numbers.
If the industry is successful, it would mark the first time that two codes serve the same geographical area in Illinois. It also could result in people living in the northern suburbs being required to dial 11 digits to make all local phone calls.
Yet the new code is by no means a done deal. The Citizens Utility Board on Wednesday will file petitions with the ICC aimed at stopping the move to activate the 224 code, which would overlay the 847 area.
ICC Chairman Richard Mathias said that state regulators are skeptical about the need for a new area code, but he added that federal regulations could limit the commission’s control.
The request is expected to be submitted Thursday by NeuStar, which coordinates number allocations for the industry. The ICC then has 30 days to act.
“Our experience is that the number administrator is more concerned with meeting the industry’s demand for phone numbers than in easing the burden for consumers,” Mathias said.
The Federal Communications Commission has final authority over phone number distribution and area codes. It has ruled that when so-called overlay codes are activated, every caller within those areas must dial the codes–even when making local calls.
Under this rule, someone calling a next door neighbor would have to dial 1-847 before dialing the seven-digit local number.
CUB contends that phone companies are sitting on millions of unused numbers that could be reassigned to the 847 area, limiting the need for a new code.
“We know that companies are hoarding numbers,” said Martin Cohen, CUB’s executive director. “Right now the industry is saying the number supply is exhausted, but there’s been no independent evaluation.”
In a study two years ago, CUB found that out of a potential of nearly 8 million phone numbers in 847, fewer than half were assigned to phones, pagers, or fax machines. Most were hoarded by phone companies.
Cohen said he doubts that things have changed much, even though NeuStar said Tuesday that there are no more three-digit exchanges left in the 847 area for assignment.
CUB has found at least 16 exchanges that are unassigned for cosmetic reasons. These include 668, 219, 950, 900 and others that phone companies don’t like to use for esthetic reasons, Cohen said.
“Many are used as area codes, but Ameritech already uses 773 as an exchange in the 847 area, so it’s obviously possible to use these exchanges,” Cohen said.
CUB also believes that the two biggest long-distance carriers–AT&T and WorldCom–have more than 1 million phone numbers for the 847 area assigned to them even though they need only a small fraction of that to operate their limited local phone service.
If the 224 code is activated, Mathias hopes the FCC will waive its rule requiring 11-digit dialing. The rule is intended to avoid giving one number a competitive advantage over another.
