I 
108TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. R. 68
To ensure the efficient allocation of telephone numbers. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JANUARY 7, 2003
Mr. FRELINGHUYSEN introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
Committee on Energy and Commerce 
A BILL 
To ensure the efficient allocation of telephone numbers.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. FINDINGS. 
Congress makes the following findings: 
(1) The premature exhaustion of telephone area 
codes causes economic dislocation for businesses and 
unnecessary inconvenience for households. 
(2) The Telecommunications Act of 1996 (Pub-
lic Law 104–104) was enacted with the objective of 
facilitating the development of competitive markets 
in telecommunications services. The efficient alloca-
tion of telephone numbers would further the achieve-
ment of that objective. 
(3) The technology and procedures for the effi-
cient allocation of telephone numbers are currently 
under development and should be available in 2 to 
3 years. 
(4) The combination of rapid growth in com-
petition for telecommunication services and the inef-
ficient allocation of numbering resources devoted to 
such services will result in the creation of scores of 
new telephone area codes, almost all of which will 
become wholly unnecessary once procedures for the 
efficient allocation of telephone numbers are in 
place. 
(5) The premature exhaustion of telephone area 
codes can be prevented by measures to conserve the 
allocation of so-called central office codes. 
(6) State regulatory authorities have the inter-
est and capability to tailor mechanisms to conserve 
telephone numbers to the needs of the telecommuni-
cations markets. 
(7) Mechanisms for the conservation of tele-
phone numbers can be implemented without imped-
ing competition for telecommunications services.
SEC. 2. EFFICIENT ALLOCATION OF TELEPHONE NUMBERS. 
(a) PLAN.—Not later than June 30, 2003, the Fed-
eral Communications Commission shall develop a plan for 
the efficient allocation of telephone numbers. The Com-
mission shall fully implement such plan not later than De-
cember 31, 2003. 
(b) ELEMENTS.—The plan under subsection (a) 
shall—
(1) include mechanisms to ensure full port-
ability of telephone numbers; 
(2) provide for full sharing of unassigned tele-
phone numbers among telecommunications carriers; 
and 
(3) take into account any telecommunications 
technology that will be widely available as of Decem-
ber 31, 2003, that requires a telephone number. 
(c) DELEGATION OF NUMBERING JURISDICTION.—
Until the Commission has fully implemented the plan re-
quired by subsection (a), the Commission shall, upon the 
request of a State commission, delegate to the State com-
mission the jurisdiction of the Commission over tele-
communications numbering with respect to the State 
under section 251(e)(1) of the Communications Act of 
1934 (47 U.S.C. 251(e)(1)) to the extent that such delega-
tion will permit the State commission to implement meas-
ures to conserve telephone numbers, including measures 
as follows: 
(1) To establish minimum use and so-called 
‘‘fill’’ rate requirements for central office codes. 
(2) To conduct audits of the use of telephone 
numbers and central office codes. 
(3) To require telecommunications carriers to 
return unused or underused central office codes and 
to return central office codes that have been ob-
tained in a manner contrary to Federal or State 
numbering guidelines or protocols. 
(4) To establish individual number pooling, 
mandatory 1000-block pooling, and interim unas-
signed number porting. 
(5) To ration central office codes.
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