WNY TO GET NEW AREA CODE DESPITE UNUSED 716 NUMBERS

The 716 region needs one or even two new area codes to deal witha phone number shortage, despite the fact that nearly half ofavailable numbers are unused, according to a report by statetelephone regulators.

Only 4.5 million of 8 million available telephone numbers are inuse in 716, the state Public Service Commission report said.

The report recommends that the state decide how to adopt a newarea code by next spring to avoid a projected shortfall.

Creating a new area code would inconvenience callers andpotentially hurt businesses forced to reprint stationary, signs andWorld Wide Web pages.

But one critic said the agency is overlooking a better option:Making use of the 3.5 million unused numbers.

The PSC has received federal permission to try new methods thatwill assign numbers more efficiently, said Thomas Tarapacki,Buffalo's Director of Telecommunications.

However, "They don't really have an idea of how effective it (themethods) will be," he said.

Phone numbers are assigned to companies in blocks of 10,000. Newtelecommunications companies are springing up and seeking numbersfor their customers, but they frequently use less than all 10,000 ina block, Tarapacki said, causing the shortfall.

The PSC is looking into ways of reducing the wasted numbers, butthe methods won't bear fruit in time to save 716 from running out,the PSC report said.

Among the ideas are assigning smaller blocks of 1,000 numbers andadopting financial incentives for phone companies to use numbersefficiently.

Some businesses are already suffering from the number shortage.

Prime Communications Corp., an Amherst-based Internet on-rampcompany, hasn't been able to enter new areas since March because ofa lack of numbers, vice president Kirk Miller said.

"I could probbly use 500 to 1,000 numbers -- it's costing usmoney," he said. Customers use the numbers to connect into theInternet.

The release of the report begins a period of public comment, PSCspokesman Ed Collins said. The comment period, unscheduled butexpected to last several months, will include public hearings in theBuffalo area and other parts of the 716 region, he said.

The report by PSC staff outlines what it calls the three bestoptions for a new area code:

Overlaying a new prefix in the same area served by 716, thewestern end of the state. New customers would get numbers with thenew area code, leaving existing phones in 716. However, dialing alocal call would take 10 digits instead of seven under current FCCrules.

Splitting the region east-to-west. Metropolitan Buffalo-NiagaraFalls would comprise the western portion, together with westernCattaraugus County and all of Chautauqua County. Everything east ofthe line would be in another zone, including Rochester. Norecommendation was made on which of the areas would get the newprefix.

Splitting the region into three areas: Erie and Niagara counties;greater Rochester, and the Southern Tier.

A three-way split would provide the longest-lasting solution, thePSC report said. It would solve the dearth of digits until 2011 forBuffalo and Rochester, compared with 2008 for an east-west split.The Southern Tier wouldn't face another shortage until 2035.

But a geographic split would mean at least 1.2 million residents,plus an undetermined number of businesses, would have to adopt a newarea code, the report said.

In addition, thousands of wireless phone customers would need toget their phones reprogrammed, with no guarantee the whole processwon't have to be repeated in future years as the digit draincontinues.

An overlay would let existing customers keep their numbers, butwould have its own disadvantages, the report said. It wouldeliminate the longtime identification of Western New York with the716 code and force callers to dial 10 digits for local calls,although that requirement is being examined by federal regulators.

Better number assignment methods weren't among the report'srecommendations, but that doesn't mean the PSC can't consider theoption, Collins said.

Buffalo has asked the PSC to examine more efficient numberassignments, Tarapacki said. He didn't know how much time thatsolution, if adopted, might buy the 716 area code.

Miller of Prime Communications agreed that the number assignmentsystem is faulty. However, correcting the system won't put off theneed for a new code forever. Homes and businesses are rapidlyputting in extra lines to accommodate Internet use.

"I don't care how it's done; just do it," he said. Comments inwriting can be addressed to Acting Secretary to the Commission,Public Service Commission, Three Empire State Plaza, Albany, N.Y.,12223-1350. Letters should cite the PSC case number, 99-C-0800, ornote that the comment concerns the 716 area code.