WUTC: Washington State Area Codes and Numbering Issues

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Washington State Area Codes and Numbering Issues

Washington State Number Plan Area (NPA) Exhaust Projections October 2007:

LOCATION	AREA CODE	PROJECTION GAIN OR LOSS	EXHAUST PROJECTION
Western Washington (Seattle)	206	Lost 15 months	Fourth Quarter 2021
Western Washington (Tacoma)	253	Added 3 months	Second Quarter 2025
Western Washington	360	Added 9 months	Third Quarter 2011
Western Washington (Bellevue)	425	Added 3.5 years	First Quarter 2031
Eastern Washington	509	Added 6 months	First Quarter 2013

Area code exhaust projections are calculated by the FCC’s designated North American Numbering Plan Administrator (NANPA). Information on anticipated use of numbers is submitted twice a year to NANPA by telecommunications companies. Projections are submitted to the FCC for approval and public release on when an area code will run out of numbers for assignment.

Numbering Efficiency and Conservation in Washington State
Inefficient allocation of prefixes without number pooling has been the main cause of exhaustion of telephone area codes. The WUTC and federal regulators require telecommunications companies to use the existing supply of telephone numbers efficiently through several means.

Rate center consolidations help conserve numbering resources by expanding the area in which a prefix may be used.
Number pooling conserves numbers by allowing up to ten companies to share a single telephone prefix (which has a total of 10,000 numbers available).
WUTC staff analysis and verification of full use in a prefix before additional assignments are made confirm efficiency.

Number Portability
Number portability allows a customer to keep her telephone number when there is a change of service provider, location or service. The FCC allowed number portability in 2005. There remain some technical restrictions to number portability.
Questions:
Customers should direct number portability questions to their current company.
If you have problems with number porting after contacting your current company, you may contact the WUTC consumer affairs division or view an FCC factsheet.
Companies may direct number portability inquiries to commission staff members.

Area Code Changes
In 1999, a new area code was presented to the WUTC by NANPA based on an industry recommendation to overlay Western Washington’s four area codes. The new code would require all customers to dial ten digits to complete a local call. Today, customers may use seven, ten or eleven digits to make a local call as an option. Rather than introducing a new area code, the WUTC directed its staff to monitor and seek ways to more efficiently use existing numbers. The WUTC has continued to delay the introduction of new area codes through careful monitoring of number use and through additional authority from the FCC for number pooling.

On March 23, 2002, the WUTC dismissed a proposal by the telecommunications industry to add a second area code in the 509 area of eastern Washington. Telephone companies that offer service in eastern Washington had recommended in April 2000, that the state implement an additional "overlay" area code for eastern Washington. The WUTC never acted on the request and instead focused efforts on using the existing supply of telephone prefixes more efficiently. The agency identified dozens of prefixes that were assigned but not used, allowed companies to use prefixes over wider areas, and required companies to share prefixes in many larger cities.

Useful Links

The shortcut to this page is www.wutc.wa.gov/telecom/numbers

Staff contact: Rebecca Beaton
Posted/updated: 08/27/2008


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