Maine PUC Says Number-Saving Plan Could Be Model for U.S.

A Maine proposal to save the state’s 207 area code from phone number exhaustion by combining Consolidated Communications’ multiple rate centers into one could be a model for the entire U.S., said Maine Public Utilities Commission telecom analyst Michael Johnson at a workshop Friday. "This is definitely a big undertaking and something very unique that we're working with Consolidated to possibly implement."

The proposal raised many questions for other companies operating in Maine, in comments last month in docket 2023-00009 (see 2308140040). Consolidation would make each rate center’s exchanges, represented by the three-digit group after the area code in a phone number, available to the entire consolidated area. Through that method, the state could combine rate centers that have different levels of demand for numbers.

"We really think that everything we're doing here with this rate center consolidation is like a pilot program for the entire country to consider consolidating more rate centers,” said Johnson. "That could save not just Maine's 207 area code ... but also the entire country's North American Numbering Plan,” which is expected to reach exhaustion by 2051. Combining Maine’s Consolidated rate centers could extend the life of the 207 area code, currently expected to exhaust in 2029, until at least 2050, he said.

The Maine PUC is considering combining only Consolidated’s Northern New England (NNE) centers, though it encourages other companies to explore the concept in the future, said Johnson. Deputy General Counsel Jody McColman stressed, "This proceeding will not result in a commission order requiring any entity other than NNE to consolidate its rate centers.”

"We've been working really hard to preserve the 207 area code,” said Johnson. The code "is linked to our culture [and] the economy," said the commission staffer, saying there are "hundreds of small businesses with 207 in their name” and it’s on hats and shirts. The PUC found only 37% of the area code was being utilized despite its phone numbers nearing exhaustion, he said. The agency pursued efforts to postpone number exhaustion, including investigations into T-Mobile and Verizon Wireless numbering practices (see 2207130042).

Folks outside Maine may not think an area code overlay, which is common in other states, would be a "huge undertaking, and we were leaning in that direction,” said Consolidated Senior Director-Government Affairs Sarah Davis: But that’s not Maine's preference and "we respect that." Consolidated didn’t petition to combine rate centers; the commission came to the company to find a solution, she said. The company said the easiest path would be to combine all rate centers: "We don't see any [business] efficiencies coming from this. We're doing this to be helpful.”

Consolidated would need at least one year -- but preferably two -- to implement the proposal, said Davis. The company proposes a single rate center that encompasses all existing NNE wire centers today and not including Consolidated's RLECs, she said. "There would be no changes in facilities" or trunking, she said. One could send a call to the tandem, the end office or any rate center, "and it's going to be routed as it is today. It's just those switches are going to be built to recognize the entire state as a single rate center." Consolidated doesn’t foresee any problems for 911, she said.