WPC[ 2BVXZ"|P (TT)7PC2XXP\  P6QXP"5^2BQdd$BBdq2B28dddddddddd88qqqYzoBNzoozzB8B^dBYdYdYBdd88d8ddddBN8ddddY`(`l2BBBBPBddYYYYYYzYzYzYzYB8B8B8B8ddddddddddYdddddoddYYYYzYzYzYdddddPdBdBBBdNdoNNF2ZdBYddddd7>d<d<BBYYdBBddBYBdYzzzzBBBBqodYYYYYYYYYYY8888dddddddndddddddHP LaserJet 5Si/5Si MXPSHPLA5SMX.WRSXP\  P6Q,,,$܎XP2E*o Zo X-#XP\  P6QXP#"|P"5^2BQdd$BBdq2B28dddddddddd88qqqYzoBNzoozzB8B^dBYdYdYBdd88d8ddddBN8ddddY`(`l2BBBBPBddYYYYYYzYzYzYzYB8B8B8B8ddddddddddYdddddoddYYYYzYzYzYdddddPdBdBBBdNdoNNF2ZdBYddddd7>d<d<BBYYdBBddBYBdYzzzzBBBBqodYYYYYYYYYYY8888dddddddndddddddHP LaserJet 5Si/5Si MXPSHPLA5SMX.WRSXP\  P6Q,,,$܎XP2RM Times New Roman (TT)Times New Roman (Italic) (TT)Times New Roman (Bold) (TT)X01Í ÍX0Í Í"5^(1<d<d<BBoodBBddBoBddzzzzzzzzzzBBBBozdddddddYYYYY8888dddddddndddddYd^pMr. Ronald R. Conners March 12, 1998  X-Page ^  DA 99505 NSD File No. 9925 X(#,_March 12, 1999 TP Mr. Ronald R. Conners Director, North American Numbering Plan Administrator 1133 15th St., NW 12th Floor Washington, DC 20005  X -xRe:` ` Sprint PCS Request for Emergency Numbering Relief in the 516 NPA Dear Mr. Conners: xThis letter addresses Sprint PCS's March 3, 1999, request that the Federal Communications Commission direct the North American Numbering Plan Administrator (NANPA) to release immediately two central office codes that have already been earmarked for Sprint PCS under the rationing procedures in place in the 516 Numbering Plan Area (NPA), which covers Long Island, New York. As is further explained below, we concur with the conclusion of the New York State Department of Public Service that Sprint PCS has adequately demonstrated its genuine and immediate need to obtain numbering resources in  X-advance of the assignment schedule provided for in the 516 NPA rationing plan.p yOh-#X\  P6G;/P#эxOn January 12, 1999, Sprint PCS filed a petition with the New York Public Service Commission seeking emergency relief to obtain accelerated access to numbering resources, which was put out for comment. Although some commenters questioned the New York Commission's authority to grant relief, none opposed  {O-Sprint PCS's underlying request. See Letter from Janet Hand Deixler, Director of Communications, New York Public Service Commission, to Celia Louie, NANPA Central Office Code Administration, and Myra L. Walls, Manager, NANPA Code Administration, Bell Atlantic, dated February 17, 1999. Pursuant to  X-the FCC's plenary authority over numbering administration,nBp yO-#X\  P6G;/P#эx47 U.S.C.  251(e).n we direct the NANPA to release the referenced central office codes immediately. xAccording to information submitted to the Common Carrier Bureau, Sprint PCS has certain central office codes in the Nassau County rate center and the Suffolk County rate center within the 516 NPA. Under the 516 NPA rationing plan, Sprint PCS has been allocated two additional central office codes in the 516 NPA, but according to the terms of the plan, these codes are not scheduled to be released to Sprint PCS until June 1999 and March 2000. Sprint PCS has demonstrated that it has almost no available telephone numbers  X -in the Suffolk County rate center. Sprint PCS indicates that it has entered into a reverse billing arrangement with Bell Atlantic in order to use numbers from the Nassau County rate center to provide service to Suffolk County customers. Use of this arrangement means that Sprint PCS's numbering resources in the Nassau County rate center will exhaust more quickly." 0*0*0*" Sprint PCS projects that without extraordinary relief, it will be completely out of telephone numbers in the 516 NPA within the 66 day period ordinarily required to activate a central  X-office code once it has been assigned to a carrier. In addition, although it usually ages numbers for 90 days in order to avoid customer confusion, wrong numbers, and incorrect billing of roaming charges, Sprint PCS indicates that it is currently aging numbers in the 516 NPA on a oneweek to zeroday cycle, in order to help meet demand. xBased on this information, we are satisfied that Sprint PCS has met the standard for  XH-extraordinary relief articulated by the Commission in the Pennsylvania Numbering Order.\HP yO -#X\  P6G;/P#эxPetition for Declaratory Ruling and Request for Expedited Action on the July 15, 1997 Order of the  {O -Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission Regarding Area Codes 412, 610, 215 and 717, Mem. Opinion & Order  {OS -and Order on Reconsideration, 13 FCC Rcd 19009, 19039, recon. pending. Sprint has demonstrated that it has virtually exhausted all available numbers in the Suffolk rate center, and that it will exhaust all of its numbering resources in the 516 NPA in the near future. Sprint has further demonstrated that it is already using extraordinary and costly measures, including severely curtailed aging cycles, and reverse billing arrangements, in order to provide service to customers in the 516 NPA. It is clear that if it does not obtain additional numbering resources very soon, at best, Sprint PCS will be forced to expand its use of these extraordinary measures, and, at worst, may be unable to provide service to customers in the 516 NPA. Therefore, we direct the NANPA to assign and release immediately to Sprint PCS the two codes that have been earmarked for Sprint in the 516 NPA rationing plan. xWe take this action today only in view of the urgency of Sprint PCS's need for relief, and we do not do so lightly. Where area code relief is being implemented in a timely fashion, it should not be necessary for the FCC to mandate this type of extraordinary relief. To the extent that extreme exhaust situations of this type are unavoidable, however, we believe that the industry, working with the central office code administrator, is capable both of anticipating, and of adopting measures to address, requests for extraordinary relief. We further believe that the industry should consider how to address emergency situations possibly by reserving a certain portion of remaining central office codes for needsbased emergency relief when formulating a central office code rationing scheme for a particular NPA. In such light, we direct the NANPA, in its capacity as the central office code administrator, to convene a 516 industry meeting to reconsider the rationing plan adopted in "g0*&&33" the 516 NPA, and we specifically instruct the industry to consider the issue of how to address emergency requests for relief, like Sprint PCS's, that may arise in the future. We request your response to this within 45 days. x` `  hh@hSincerely, x` `  hh@hYog R. Varma x` `  hh@hDeputy Chief, Common Carrier Bureau  X -cc:xJonathan Chambers, Sprint PCS XxPenny Rubin, New York Public Service Commission(# XxJanet Hand Deixler, New York Public Service Commission(# XxCheryl Callahan, New York Public Service Commission(#  XK-XxAlan Hasselwander, Chairman, North American Numbering Council