The North American Numbering Administrator (NANPA) released the results of its 1999 Central Office Code Utilization Study (COCUS) today. The study forecasts that the 207 area code will exhaust in the fourth quarter of 2001 rather than July of 2000.

The change in the forecasted exhaust date reflects an improvement in the accuracy of the survey due to a much higher participation rate by Maine carriers in this year’s survey. In January, the PUC issued a procedural order encouraging carriers to respond to NANPA’s survey. (The survey is not mandatory at the national level.) Accordingly, 31 of 32 carriers participated in this year’s survey, much higher than for the 1998 COCUS, when only eight Maine code holders submitted a forecast. This increased participation is a direct result of the MPUC's involvement in the process and proves that states, if given the opportunity, can have a positive impact on number conservation efforts.

The revised exhaust date does NOT mean that the PUC, the FCC, or the Industry should relax efforts to develop and implement number conservation measures. The new forecast gives the PUC a "window of opportunity" before it needs to begin the process of implementing a new area code. If the FCC grants the PUC the authority it has requested and code conservation measures are implemented by the end of this year, there is a substantial chance that the exhaust date of the 207 NPA can be pushed back even further. For example, the 847 area code in Illinois is the only area code in the country where mandatory thousand block pooling has been implemented. NANPA’s new forecast shows that the exhaust date for 847 was moved from the third quarter of 1998 to the second quarter of 2029 – a difference of over 31 years. Clearly, thousand block pooling can be an effective number conservation tool.

Thus, while the PUC is pleased to see a more accurate exhaust forecast, it also recognizes the need to work even harder to obtain the authority to implement number conservation measures which would ensure that Maine remains a single area code state well into the next millennium. "While the revised exhaust date provides some breathing space, we must continue our efforts to find a solution that encourages competition and preserves numbering resources," said PUC Chairman, Thomas L. Welch. "We believe that regulators at both the state and federal level have the obligation to do all we can to avoid, if possible, the inconvenience and expense that creating another area code in Maine would bring to our citizens and businesses."

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