The 801 area code that recently covered all of Utah is destined to be limited to just Salt Lake County.
An order released by the Utah Public Service Commission Thursday recommends Utah, Davis, Weber and Morgan counties get a new area code. Areas now having the 435 prefix would be unaffected.The timing and final decision to make the change rests with the North American Numbering Plan Administration, which is expected to follow the PSC's recommendation. The PSC expects an assignment of numbers using a new code to be available by the end of this year.
A surge in the demand for telecommunications services -- wireless phones, new business lines and second home phone lines most often used for fax machines and Internet access -- has seen metropolitan areas around the country chopping up area code boundaries with increasing frequency.
Some have dealt with the need for more numbers by reducing the geographical size of the territory covered by one area code, as Utah first saw when the 435 area code was implemented in 1997; or by creating overlay zones where a customer ordering new phone service would have a different area code than neighbors across the street with existing service. The overlay plan requires all callers living in the overlay area to dial 10 digits even for local calls.
Before choosing an option, the PSC held public hearings throughout the affected areas. Participation was slight. However, telecommunications providers generally preferred the overlay option, while customers preferred the option the commission chose.
City boundaries along the Wasatch Front also were considered when deciding where to assign the new area code.
The PSC considered making the northern split between Davis and Weber counties but found the population in the Farmington/Centerville area so co-mingled that making the split between Salt Lake and Davis counties interrupted fewer neighborhoods. The disadvantage of the split between Davis and Salt Lake will be that "residents of the Bountiful rate center, including the cities of Centerville, West Bountiful, Bountiful, North Salt Lake and Woods Cross, will have to dial 10 digits to complete a toll-free call into Salt Lake County," the PSC order says.
The implementation of Utah's third area code has been delayed by a number conservation plan the PSC has initiated. New telecommunications providers offering service in Utah are assigned blocks of unused numbers they can then assign to future customers. The conservation plan involves reducing the size of the blocks of unused numbers.
The PSC expects new telephone numbers in the 801 area code may not be available after the second quarter of 2001 and that the new code will be available by the end of this year. As was seen when the 435 area code came into play in 1997, there is expected to be a buffer period before dialing the new area code becomes mandatory.
"It is the commission's intention to put off the split as long as is reasonable," the PSC says. "We anticipate that the numbering administrator and the industry will soon meet to set out a schedule for implementation and education."
You can reach Steve Fidel by e-mail at steve@desnews.com