Residents living in the region, which includes Glendale, Burbank and most of the San Fernando Valley, will not have to change their 818 numbers because of the new 747 code, although they will have to make calls by dialing 1 and then the area code of each desired number, even if it is within the 818 zone, Cocke said.
Officials are encouraging residents and businesses to change their automated dialing systems, or speed dial settings, to reflect the new dialing requirements.
The 818 region, created in 1984 after it was split from the 213 area code, was running low on numbers to allocate to phone providers in the area, Cocke said.
Each area code has about 7.9 million possible number combinations, which are allocated to providers in 10,000-number blocks, but the region’s available numbers have decreased because of the widespread use of cell phones, pagers and fax machines, said Christopher Chow, spokesman for the California Public Utilities Commission.
Chow was skeptical about the possibility that providers were “hoarding” numbers and creating an artificial need for new area codes.
“I think you just have to look at it as the expanding population and also the population’s appetite for telecommunications,” Chow said.
The Federal Communications Commission has measures to prevent the possibility of “number hoarding,” requiring that providers certify that they have used at least 75% of each 10,000-number block before they request a new allocation, Cocke said.
The 747 area code is only the third overlay in the history of California, where a fourth will take effect later this year in a region stretching from San Diego County to Bishop, Chow said.
That change will involve the addition of the 442 area code to the 760 region, he said.
