Who’s on first…
New York City will have a new line-up of central office codes in effect by mid-August. As outlined in the Order of the State of New York Public Service Commission (Case 09-C-0244), the following changes will be effective August 15, 2009:

• All central office codes in New York City Zone 2 (NWYRCYZN02) will be consolidated under New York City Zone 1 (NWYRCYZN01). (After 8/15/09, NWYRCYZN02 will no longer exist.)
• Central office codes in the 212 and 646 area codes associated with the New York City Zone 3 (NWYRCYZN03) will be moved to New York City Zone 1 (NWYRCYZN01). (After 8/15/09, NWYRCYZN03 will no longer be associated with 212 or 646 area codes.)
• And, 917-507, 917-521, and 917-529 will move from NWYRCYZN03 to NWYRCYZN01. The remainder of 917 central office codes currently assigned to NWYRCYZN03 will remain unchanged. (NWYRCYZN03 will continue to be associated with the 917, 347, and 718 area codes after 8/15/09.)

FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISION (FCC) UPDATES

Porting Period Shortened
In a May 13, 2009, Report and Order (R&O) issued by the FCC, the "porting interval for simple wireline and simple intermodal port requests" was modified from four-days to one business day. So, service providers (wireline, wireless and certain Voice over Internet Protocol companies) will now be required to process customer requested transfers of existing phone numbers from one provider to another within one business day.

Now, what is "simple"? The FCC defines "simple ports as those ports that: (1) do not involve unbundled network elements; (2) involve an account only for a single line; (3) do not include complex switch translations (e.g., Centrex, ISDN, AIN services, remote call forwarding, or multiple services on the loop); and (4) do not include a reseller. This may sound a little confusing to consumers – and, in fact, Michael Copps, FCC Acting Chairman, acknowledges certain "non-simple ports look no different to consumers than simple ports, yet the shortened interval adopted in this Order will not apply". So, there will be some fine-tuning still to come with regard to porting processes and simple/non-simple ports.

From four to one. Recognizing this shortened porting period may necessitate some service providers to modify processes and functionality in order to comply, the North American Numbering Council (NANC) has been directed to develop new "local number portability process flows" in 90 days. Once NANC’s new process flows are complete, large providers will have nine months to comply (small carriers will have 15 months).

The full Report and Order and Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking may be viewed at: http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/FCC-09-41A1.pdf

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Interconnection VoIP Notification Requirements
In a second May 13, 2009, R&O, the FCC also required interconnected VoIP service providers ("those whose customers can place calls to and receive calls from the public telephone network, rather than solely over the Internet") to provide customers written notice prior discontinuation, reduction or impairment of service. This puts VoIP carriers under the same notification requirements as conventional voice service providers.

The full Report and Order may be viewed at: http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/FCC-09-40A1.pdf

VoIP: The Country?
Country Code 883 was assigned for global use for Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) service by the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) in late 2008, a development that went relatively un-noticed in non-VoIP arenas. The ITU issued the country code at the request of Voxbone, a Brussels, Belgium-based provider of international inbound numbers and VoIP transport.

Unlike country codes that are associated with specific countries, (i.e., +44 for the UK or +52 for Mexico) +883 numbers are global, and they move with you from place to place, so they’re not associated with any specific country. Voxbone markets the numbers as iNum, and each phone number assigned in country code 883 will be 12 digits, which means that about 10 million numbers have been allocated to Voxbone for this service. The company estimates that all 10 million of those numbers will be assigned to its customers by the end of 2009.

Currently, Voxbone acts as a wholesaler, with VoIP-originated calls placed to +883 numbers passed through the company’s routers and delivered to the appropriate VoIP service provider. Callers on the PSTN (Public Switched Telephone Network) must dial a Voxbone access number, and then the +883 number they are calling in order to reach a subscriber in country code 883. Voxbone hopes to eventually negotiate agreements for direct interconnection with the PSTN.
Will country code +883 be widely accepted? Voxbone expects the service to be a low-cost, barrier-free way to connect callers worldwide. But in places like Germany where separate, non-geographic area codes within the country exist, calls to those numbers typically cost more than calls to geographically-based numbers. There may not be much incentive for traditional carriers to deliver calls to the “virtual” country code at a low cost. And the need to dial an access number before the subscriber phone number may be a hindrance to acceptance if direct interconnection to the PSTN is not achieved.

What do you think? We’d like to hear from you! Please share your comments regarding the effect of country code +883 at your company or in the industry as a whole. Leave your comments here!

Alabama Overlay Announced
An all services overlay was recently approved by Alabama’s Public Service Commission in an effort to provide relief for the 256 NPA. The new 938 NPA will cover the same communities now served by the 256 NPA, including Anniston, Florence, Gadsden and Huntsville.

The effective date for the 938 NPA is 7/10/10; however, transitioning residents to 10-digit dialing will begin much sooner. A “permissive dialing period” will be in effect from 11/7/09 through 6/5/10, during which subscribers may use either 7- or 10-digits when making calls within the 256 NPA. At the conclusion of the permissive period, shortly before activation of the 938 NPA, 10-digit dialing will be mandatory for the overlay area.

Just as customers are encouraged to begin 10-digit dialing, it is highly recommended that carriers prepare their switches to begin sending 10-digits prior to the mandatory dialing deadline of 6/5/10 as well. Additionally, international and domestic service providers should verify their networks have the 938 NPA activated prior to its effective date of 7/10/10.