NANPA Planning Letter 400 - Arkansas - NPA 327 to Overlay NPA 870

An all services overlay to implement NPA 327 as the relief method for the existing 870 NPA was approved by the Arkansas Public Service Commission on 12/11/09. Both NPAs will serve the northern, eastern and southern portion of Arkansas. The overlay timeline was identified as:
~ 04/21/12 -- 13-Month Timeline Begins
~ 10/20/12 -- Permissive 10-Digit Dialing Starts
~ 11/18/12 -- Earliest Date to Order Central Office Codes for New 327 NPA
~ 04/20/13 -- Permissive Dialing Ends / Mandatory 10-Digit Dialing Begins
~ 05/18/13 -- Earliest Date for New NPA Central Office Code Activation / Effective Date for New 327 NPA

Effective 4/20/13 (mandatory 10-digit dialing), the dialing plan for 870 and 327 NPAs will be as follows:
~ Local Home NPA (HNPA) or Foreign NPA (FNPA) Call … 10-Digits (NPA-NXX-XXXX)
~ Toll HNPA or FNPA Call … 1+ 10-Digits (1+ NPA-NXX-XXXX)
~ Operator Services HNPA or FNPA Call … 0+ 10-Digits (0+ NPA-NXX-XXXX)

While 10-digit dialing is encouraged during the permissive period, subscribers may use either seven- or 10-digit calling in the overlay area during this time. And, it is always good practice for carriers to prepare their switches for 10-digits well in advance of the mandatory dialing conversion date. Additionally, international and domestic carriers should ensure the new 327 NPA has been activated network-wide prior to 5/18/13. (Test numbers for routing verification to the new 327 NPA will be in effect 2/16/13 – 7/20/13 and are: 327-639-8378 for LATA 528; 327-327-1327 for LATA 530.)

For additional information, visit http://www.nanpa.com/.

NANPA Fourth Quarter 2009 Update

In reviewing NANPA’s recently released fourth quarter ’09 update, we found several items of interest and are recapping them for you below:

Area Code Relief Activity

• Alabama – Permissive 10-digit dialing for the existing 256 NPA/938 overlay began 11/7/09, with mandatory 10-digit dialing set to begin on 6/5/10. (See PL-389) Additionally, Jeopardy status for the 256 area code was rescinded by NANPA on 11/23/09, as it was no longer necessary.
• California – Mandatory 1+ 10-digit dialing for the new 442 NPA began 10/24/09; thus, completing the overlay for the 760 area code. (See PL- 381)
• Connecticut – The 203 NPA overlay was complete on 12/12/09, which was the effective date for the new 475 area code. (See PL-388) With the implementation of the 475 area code overlay, the neighboring 860 NPA’s dialing plan was also impacted. Ten-digit dialing is now required for local calls within and outside of the 860 NPA (all toll calls require 1+ 10-digit dialing).
• Illinois – On 11/7/09, mandatory 1+ 10-digit dialing began for the new 872 NPA, completing the overlay for 312 and 773 NPAs. (See PL-392)
• Nebraska – June 26, 2010, is the date set for 10-digit permissive local dialing to begin in the 402 and 531 area codes. The new 531 area code has been assigned as an overlay for the 402 NPA. Mandatory 10-digit dialing will begin 2/26/11. An open-ended 10-digit permissive local dialing for the adjacent 308 NPA starts on June 26, 2010 as well. (see PL-397)
• Oregon – Mandatory 10-digit dialing for the new 458 NPA began 1/10/10, this new area code is serving as the overlay for the 541 NPA. (See PL-383)
• Pennsylvania – NANPA filed a relief petition recommending an overlay for Pennsylvania’s existing 717 NPA on 10/20/09.
• Wisconsin – Permissive seven- or 10-digit dialing began on 10/17/09 for the new 534 NPA, which serves as the overlay for the 715 NPA. Mandatory 10-digit dialing is set to begin 7/17/10. (See PL-384)

NANPA Nuggets:
~ The FCC exercised the six-month option in the NANPA contract on 1/8/10, making the contract effective through 7/8/10.
~ The North American Numbering Council (NANC) charter has been renewed through September 25, 2011.

Now available on NANPA’s website:

• In the "Reports" section…
  -- Central office codes from the PCS 533 NPA code are now being assigned by NANPA. Access via the "5YY-NXX" link on the NANPA reports page.
  -- An updated "NPA Dialing Plans" report for all US in-service geographic area codes (reflecting the recent implementation of new NPAs in California, Connecticut and Illinois) is available. Access via the "NPA" link on the NANPA reports page.
• In the "Tools" section…
  -- The most current NAS training guides available (several have recently been updated). Access via the "NAS Training Guides" link on the tools page.
  

How much NPA knowledge do you have? We found these "Did you know?" questions interesting…

Q. Which states have the most NPAs?
A. California with 30, followed by Texas (24), Florida (17), and New York (14).

Q. Which states have the most NPA overlay complexes?
A. California, Texas, Illinois and Massachusetts each have 4 overlay complexes.

Q. How many geographic splits have been implemented in the last five years?
A. Two – California 909/951 and New Mexico 505/575.

Q. How many NPA overlays have been implemented in the last five years?
A. Nineteen.

Q. How many single NPA states are there?
A. Ten: Alaska, Delaware, Hawaii, Idaho, Maine, Montana, North Dakota, Rhode Island, South Dakota and Vermont."

For more NANPA news, visit http://www.nanpa.com.

What is an error?

As readers of this blog and our website are well aware, Tele-Tech is very public about our level of accuracy and our quality statistics. While we usually consider accuracy to be black and white, a recent customer challenge to one of our local calling areas left us in a somewhat gray area.

When we checked the local calling area data questioned by the customer against the incumbent local exchange carrier tariff that defines the local calling areas, our data was correct. However, we reached out to our contact at the ILEC and found that the customer was right! A mistake had been made in the tariff.

Here's the gray area. We commit to being accurate per the source tariff material. Many of our customer agreements guarantee that our data be consistent with the tariff. So...

Should this "error" count against us in our quality stat?...OR...Should this "error" not count against us because we matched the tariff?

We debated these questions internally and considered our options carefully. We concluded that tariff errors are extremely rare, and therefore it is not practical or necessary for us to check the accuracy of each tariff with its carrier. Since we measure ourselves and our accuracy against the source tariff material, and that material is reliable except in extremely rare circumstances, we did not count this error in our accuracy stats.

Tell us what you think. Was this an error or not? Add an entry to this blog.

Attention Wireless Carriers and CLECs Offering Lifeline Service...

Are you concerned about the accuracy of the Lifeline reimbursement claims you're submitting to the Universal Service Administrative Company (USAC)? USAC says, "Carriers should keep in mind that the interstate SLC rates contained in the interstate access tariffs may be revised at any time, so it is important to confirm that the carrier is reporting the most current data." Tele-Tech's database of the SLC rates can help you submit accurate claims based on the most current rates, keep you in compliance, and help you through a USAC audit. Learn more by contacting Kim Russo at krusso@telecomdb.com or 800-433-6181 x7103.

Tele-Tech Announces Intercarrier Compensation Customer Advisory Council

We’re proud to announce that we have invited several key customers to join our newly formed Intercarrier Compensation Customer Advisory Council. This group will provide feedback and discuss industry trends as they apply to carrier access billing, reciprocal compensation, and related compensatory issues.

"We chose clients to join this group based on their industry knowledge and ability to look to the future of intercarrier compensation," said Kimberly Russo, Co-President of Tele-Tech’s parent company, KFR Services, Inc. "The intercarrier billing environment is changing more now than ever, and we want to bring together a group of respected experts to discuss the implications of newer technologies and regulatory reform," Russo said.

The council will meet quarterly and discuss issues specific to Tele-Tech’s jurisdictional databases as well as hot topics such as intercarrier billing for wireless service providers, the increasingly poor quality of call detail records, and regulatory reform.

The members of the Tele-Tech Intercarrier Advisory Council are:

• Robert Allen, CABS Manager – Cox Communications
• Janice Gallagher, Service Manager, Customer Relations – AT&T
• Robert Johnson, President - Ameliowave
• Jon Jones, President/CEO – Data Tech, Inc.
• Stan Redden, Vice President, Product Development - CDG