Federal Communications Commission

Washington, D.C. 20554

##  DA 01-848

CC Docket No. 96-98

NSD File No. L-99-102

### April 10, 2001

By U.S. Mail and Facsimile

The Honorable Marilyn Showalter

Chairwoman

Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission

1300 S. Evergreen Park Drive, S.W.

P.O. Box 47250

Olympia, Washington 98504-7250

Re: Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission's Second Amended
Petition for Additional Delegated Authority to Implement a Number
Pooling Trial in Area Code 509

Dear Chairwoman Showalter:

This letter addresses the Washington Utilities and Transportation
Commission's (Washington Commission's or Petitioner's) amended petition
for delegated authority to implement thousands-block number pooling in
the 509 numbering plan area (NPA).[^1] As discussed below, we grant the
petition.

The Washington Commission's original petition filed on April 27, 2000
requested, among other things, additional delegated authority to
implement thousands-block number pooling. The Washington Commission
received such authority from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC)
in an order released on July 20, 2000.[^2] On March 12, 2001, in
response to a request by QWEST Corporation,[^3] the FCC's Common Carrier
Bureau (Bureau) issued a letter clarifying the Washington Commission's

delegated authority to implement thousands-block number pooling trials
within the state of Washington.[^4] In particular, the Bureau stated
that in the *July 2000 Delegation Order*, the Washington Commission had
received delegated authority to implement pooling trials in the 206,
253, 360, and 425 NPAs, but not in the 509 NPA. As a result, the
Washington Commission filed the instant amended petition requesting
delegated authority to implement thousands-block number pooling in the
509 NPA.

To ensure that thousands-block number pooling is implemented in areas
where it has the potential to be most beneficial, the FCC requires state
commissions to demonstrate that certain conditions are satisfied in
their states before thousands-block number pooling authority will be
delegated to them.[^5] In the *Numbering Resource Optimization First
Report and Order*, the FCC directed state commissions seeking
thousands-block number pooling authority to demonstrate that: 1) an NPA
in its state is in jeopardy; 2) the NPA in question has a remaining life
span of at least a year; and 3) that the NPA is in one of the largest
100 MSAs, or alternatively, the majority of wireline carriers in the NPA
are LNP-capable.[^6] The FCC recognized, however, that there may be
"special circumstances" in which pooling would be beneficial in NPAs
that do not meet all of the above criteria, and stated that it may
authorize pooling in such an NPA upon a satisfactory showing by the
state commission of such special circumstances.[^7]

The Washington Commission's filing demonstrates that although the 509
NPA has a remaining life span of at least a year and that a majority of
wireline carriers in the 509 NPA are LNP-capable, the 509 NPA is not
currently in jeopardy.[^8] Petitioner asserts that "special
circumstances" exist that warrant authorization to implement
thousands-block number pooling in the 509 NPA. The Washington Commission
states that pooling would greatly benefit the 509 NPA because, according
to best estimates, less than half of the numbers in the 509 NPA have
been used.[^9] The Washington Commission also explains that the 509 NPA
encompasses a mostly rural portion of Washington that has realized few
benefits from local competition and that, without pooling, this area
will experience a rate of area code changes similar to more urbanized
areas.[^10]

We agree that thousands-block number pooling would benefit the 509 NPA,
particularly given the estimated amount of unused numbers within the 509
NPA and the rural nature of this region. Thousands-block number pooling
should result in more efficient use of numbering resources within this
NPA. Thus, we grant the Washington Commission the authority to implement
a thousands-block number pooling trial in the 509 NPA subject to the
same conditions and safeguards as those set forth in the *July 2000
Delegation Order*.[^11]

We recognize that area code changes can be expensive and confusing for
consumers. The authority to implement a thousands-block number pooling
trial allows a state commission to address inefficiencies on the supply
side of the telephone number assignment regime by ordering that
LNP-capable carriers receive smaller blocks of numbers. We are
encouraged by the Washington Commission's willingness to work with the
FCC to achieve our numbering resource optimization goals. Thus, as
stated above, we grant Petitioner's request to implement thousands-block
number pooling in the 509 NPA.

> Sincerely,
>
> Yog R. Varma
>
> Deputy Chief, Common Carrier Bureau

[^1]: Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission's Second
    Amended Petition for Additional Delegated Authority to Implement a
    Number Pooling Trial in Area Code 509, filed March 14, 2001
    (Washington Commission Petition).

[^2]: *See Numbering Resource Optimization*, Order, 15 FCC Rcd 23371
    (2000) (*July 2000 Delegation Order*).

[^3]: *See* QWEST Corporation Request for Clarification or Declaration
    Regarding the Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission's
    Delegated Authority Associated with Number Pooling Trials in the
    State of Washington, filed January 22, 2001.

[^4]: *See* Letter from Yog R. Varma, FCC, to Sharon J. Devine and
    Kathryn Marie Krause, QWEST Corporation, dated March 12, 2001.

[^5]: *Numbering Resource Optimization*, Report and Order and Further
    Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, 15 FCC Rcd 7574, 7652 (rel. Mar. 31,
    2000) (*Numbering Resource Optimization First Report and Order*).

[^6]: *Id.*

[^7]: *Id.*

[^8]: Washington Commission Petition at 2. The 509 NPA is projected to
    exhaust in April, 2002. *Id.*

[^9]: *Id.* at 3.

[^10]: *Id.* at 3.

[^11]: *See* *July 2000 Delegation Order*, 15 FCC Rcd at paras. 10, 11,
    13-22.