NPA Allocation Plan and Assignment Guidelines ATIS-0300055

NPA Allocation Plan and Assignment Guidelines ATIS-0300055

July 23, 2004

Page 2

Alliance for Telecommunications
Industry Solutions
Sponsor of

Industry Numbering
Committee
1200 G Street NW
Suite 500
Washington, DC 20005
www.atis.org / Industry Numbering Committee (INC)
NPA ALLOCATION PLAN AND
ASSIGNMENT GUIDELINES
These guidelines are reissued in connection with the resolution of INC Issue 432.

Copyright Ó 2004 by the Alliance for Telecommunications Industry Solutions, Inc.

All rights reserved.

The NPA Allocation Plan and Assignment Guidelines dated July 23, 2004 (former document number INC 96-0308-011) is copyrighted, published and distributed by ATIS on behalf of the Industry Numbering Committee (INC). Except as expressly permitted, no part of this publication may be reproduced or distributed in any form, including electronic media or otherwise, without the prior express written permission of ATIS.

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Preface

The Industry Numbering Committee (INC) provides a forum for customers and providers in the telecommunications industry to identify, discuss and resolve national issues that affect numbering. The INC is responsible for identifying and incorporating the necessary changes into this document. All changes to this document shall be made through the INC issue resolution process and adopted by the INC as set forth in the ATIS Operating Procedures.

This document is maintained under the direction of ATIS and the INC. It is distributed exclusively by ATIS.

Disclaimer and Limitation of Liability

The information provided in this document is directed solely to professionals who have the appropriate degree of experience to understand and interpret its contents in accordance with generally accepted engineering or other professional standards and applicable regulations. No recommendation as to products or vendors is made or should be implied.

NO REPRESENTATION OR WARRANTY IS MADE THAT THE INFORMATION IS TECHNICALLY ACCURATE OR SUFFICIENT OR CONFORMS TO ANY STATUTE, GOVERNMENTAL RULE OR REGULATION, AND FURTHER NO REPRESENTATION OR WARRANTY IS MADE OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR ANY PARTICULAR PURPOSE OR AGAINST INFRINGEMENT OF INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS. ATIS SHALL NOT BE LIABLE, BEYOND THE AMOUNT OF ANY SUM RECEIVED IN PAYMENT BY ATIS FOR THIS DOCUMENT, WITH RESPECT TO ANY CLAIM, AND IN NO EVENT SHALL ATIS BE LIABLE FOR LOST PROFITS OR OTHER INCIDENTAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES. ATIS EXPRESSLY ADVISES THAT ANY AND ALL USE OF OR RELIANCE UPON THE INFORMATION PROVIDED IN THIS DOCUMENT IS AT THE RISK OF THE USER.

Table of Contents

Page

1.0 Purpose and Scope 5

2.0 Assumptions and Constraints 5

3.0 Assignment Principles 7

4.0 NPA Allocation Plan 8

5.0 Responsibilities of NPA Code Administrator 9

6.0 NPA Code Conservation and Planning 10

7.0 Maintenance of Guidelines 11

8.0 Appeal Process 12

9.0 Specific Geographic NPA Relief Codes 12

10.0 Unique NANP Geographic NPA Codes to Countries 16

11.0 NANP Expansion NPA Codes 19

12.0 Easily Recognizable NPA Codes (ERCs) 19

13.0 General Purpose NPA Codes (GPCs) 21

14.0 Terms and Definitions 23

15.0 Acronyms 26

NPA Code Assignment Forms Part 1 - Assignment Request

NPA Code Assignment Forms Part 2 - Administrator Response

1.0 PURPOSE AND SCOPE

This document specifies guidelines for the assignment of Numbering Plan Area (NPA) codes. NPA codes are the first three digits of the 10-digit North American Numbering Plan (NANP) format (the format is made up of 10 digits in the form of NXX-NXX-XXXX[1], Section 14.0 provides details of the format). NPA codes have traditionally been used to identify distinct exclusive geographic areas, commonly referred to as area codes. NPAs have also been assigned to services provided on a non-geographic basis (e.g., 800 NPA is assigned to a service for which the called party, rather than the calling party, is charged for the call).

1.1 These guidelines apply only to the assignment of NPA codes.

1.2 These guidelines were developed by the Industry Numbering Committee (INC) using the industry consensus process.

1.3 These guidelines are expected to apply throughout the area served by the NANP unless the affected regulatory administrations direct otherwise.

1.4 These guidelines do not supersede applicable governmental or regulatory principles, procedures and requirements.

1.5 The assignment of an entire NPA code to an entity for its exclusive use will not be permitted (excluding those situations referenced in Section 10).

2.0 ASSUMPTIONS AND CONSTRAINTS

The development of these guidelines includes the following assumptions and constraints:

2.1 NANP resources, including those covered in these guidelines, are collectively managed by the North American Telecommunications industry with oversight of the North American federal regulatory authorities.

The NANP resources are considered a public resource and are not owned by the assignees. Consequently, the resources cannot be sold, brokered, bartered or leased by the assignee for a fee or other consideration.

If a resource is sold, brokered, bartered, or leased for a fee, the resource is subject to reclamation by the Administrator.

2.2 These guidelines are intended to apply to NPA codes which are assigned from the time of completion of these guidelines.

2.3 The allocation and assignment of NPA codes, as set forth in these guidelines, remains in effect until there is industry consensus and/or policy direction to change these assignment guidelines.

2.4 NPA numbering resources shall be assigned to permit the most efficient and effective use of a finite numbering resource in order to maximize the existing resource pool and delay the need to develop and implement an expanded numbering/ dialing plan. To promote the efficient and effective use of NPA resources, audits should be performed to ensure the consistent application of, and compliance with, these guidelines.

2.5 The 3-digit numbers 000 through 199 are unavailable for assignment as NPAs. The use of 0/1 for dialing prefixes currently prohibits assigning the above numbers as NPAs. In addition, these 3-digit numbers are used in some cases for operational functions (e.g., 1XX test and routing codes). Other specific 3-digit numbers considered unavailable for assignment are indicated in Section 4.2.

2.6  These guidelines were developed by the industry without any assumption regarding who should be the NPA Code Administrator.

2.7 The applicant/user of the NPA code must have authorization, if required, from the appropriate regulatory authority(s) to operate in the area in which it intends to provide the service for which the NPA code has been obtained.

2.8 The guidelines should provide the greatest latitude in the provision of public telecommunications services while effectively managing a finite resource.

2.9 NPA codes are a public resource and administrative assignment of the NPA code does not imply ownership of the resource by the administrator(s) performing the assignment function, nor does it imply ownership by the service providers utilizing the resource. The assignment of an NPA code by the NPA Code Administrator implies that NPA code will be used for the expressed and exclusive purpose for which it was assigned.

2.10 Implementation of these code assignments is beyond the scope of these guidelines. These guidelines treat only the allocation and assignment of NPA codes.

2.11  The INC will provide formal notification to the NANPA through its meeting notes of any recommendation by the INC to assign, change or withdraw an NPA(s).

2.12 SPs and numbering resource administrators are responsible for managing numbering resources in accordance with these guidelines and the orders of applicable regulatory authorities. Both SPs and numbering resource administrators are subject to audits. Further information may be found in FCC 00-104 ¶62, FCC 00-429 ¶81-99, FCC 01-362 ¶95-111, and 47CFR§52.15(k).

3.0 ASSIGNMENT PRINCIPLES

To allow the greatest possible latitude in providing services, the following assignment principles apply to all aspects of these guidelines:

3.1 NPA codes shall be assigned in a fair and impartial manner.

3.2 NPA codes will be used in accordance with the application(s) for which they are assigned.

3.3 NPA codes are a finite resource. For this reason, these guidelines were developed to promote the efficient and effective use of a finite numbering resource, minimizing the cost and need to expand its availability while at the same time allowing for maximum flexibility in the introduction of new services, capabilities, and features. Therefore, the concern for the need to conserve this resource will not be permitted to inhibit or impede the ability to offer new telecommunications capabilities or services.

3.4 NPA resources will continue to be administered for the overall good and utilization by the user public and the telecommunications sector and, as such, are not to be considered "owned" by the service providers or users utilizing the resource.

3.5 NPA resources are available for assignment subject to the requirements of these guidelines. The final determination of the use of the NPA resource rests with the appropriate public policy body.

3.6 The assignment of NPA code numbers will be in accordance with federal, provincial, state, and local regulations, and industry-approved assignment guidelines, as appropriate.

3.7 NPA resources are centrally administered within the area served by the NANP. Therefore, all requests for NPA assignment shall routinely be submitted to the administrator (whether the request is for a reserved code or a new code) accompanied by the appropriate information specified in the guidelines. The administrator will be responsible to process the NPA application in accordance with these guidelines (see Section 5.0). However, any potential telecommunications service provider may bring requests for NPA resources directly to the INC, providing the application contains all appropriate information outlined in these guidelines.

3.8 Any potential telecommunications service provider can request NPA resources.

3.9   The assignment of NPA resources must consider and encourage efficient operation of the public switched telecommunications network.

3.10   NPA resources should be assigned in a manner that minimizes user confusion.

4.0 NPA ALLOCATION PLAN

4.1 NPA codes are divided into four categories or partitions: Specific Geographic NPA Relief Codes, NANP Expansion NPA Codes, Easily Recognizable NPA Codes and General Purpose NPA Codes[2]. Sections 9 - 13 provide additional detail about each of these partitions.

4.1.1 Specific Geographic NPA Relief Codes are NPA codes reserved in anticipation of assignment to relieve specific geographic NPA codes that are exhausting within the next 10 years as identified in the most recent North American Numbering Plan Numbering Resource Utilization/Forecast (NRUF), formerly Central Office Code Utilization Survey (COCUS) [3]. A list of these NPA codes is maintained by the NPA Administrator.

4.1.2 NANP Expansion NPA codes are codes that will be used to facilitate expansion of the current NANP 10-digit format (i.e., codes of the format N9X are reserved for this purpose).

4.1.3 Easily Recognizable NPA Codes (ERCs) are codes that, due to their unique digit pattern (e.g., N22, N33...N88), are used to convey to customers certain unique knowledge regarding a call to the telephone number being dialed. N00 NPA codes (formerly known as Service Access Codes, or SACs) are included in this partition. As was the case for SACs, ERCs are typically reserved for use as non-geographic codes, and have been used to identify services rather than geographic areas.

4.1.4 General Purpose NPA Codes (GPCs) are codes available for assignment for growth in the existing partitions or for new services or uses. Any NPA code not included in the other three above partitions is a General Purpose NPA code.

4.2 The following NPA codes are not available for assignment:

4.2.1 N11 format codes because these codes will remain reserved for special service functions. (e.g., emergency - 911, hearing or speech impaired access - 711, non-emergency public access - 311).

4.2.2 950 because of potential conflict with Feature Group B service (i.e., 950-XXXX where XXXX is the Carrier Identification Code).

4.2.3 555 because of potential conflict with Directory Assistance Services or other information services.

4.3 At the time these guidelines were developed, the industry believed it might prove beneficial to set aside, where possible, blocks of NPA codes to meet some unanticipated need sometime in the future. The industry also agreed that if an NPA assignment was required from one of these blocks of NPA codes, then that assignment should be made. Codes presently set aside are the 37X and 96X series.

5.0 RESPONSIBILITIES OF NPA CODE ADMINISTRATOR

The code administrator shall:

5.1 Upon receipt of a written request for an NPA assignment, the administrator will review the nature of the request and determine the next steps:

5.1.1 If the request is for a specific geographic relief code, or a reserved code for geographic relief, or a reserved code to supplement an existing assigned ERC or GPC, the administrator shall have discretionary authority to assign the code(s) consistent with the appropriate guidelines. The INC will be notified of the request and subsequent assignment.

5.1.2 If the request is for a code for a country the administrator will refer to Section 10 for instructions on how to assign the code. The administrator may reserve an NPA code(s) for a country for a period of 12 months under the following circumstances: a) an existing NANP country (or on behalf of a Territory, Commonwealth or Possession) has requested or intends to request the assignment of an NPA code, or b) a country outside the NANP has requested to be included in the NANP and assigned an NPA. The reservation is subject to review upon a request for assignment of the reserved code. The INC will be notified of the reservation and a request for assignment.

5.1.3 If the request is for a code other than specified in Section 5.1.1 or 5.1.2, (i.e., new ERC or GPC) the administrator shall prepare a new issue to be introduced at the next scheduled INC. The administrator, in preparing the issue statement, shall ensure that all criteria for assignment has been met (see Sections 12 and 13).

5.2 Respond in writing of the disposition within 30 working days from receipt of the assignment request form (see Part 2 of the "NPA Code Assignment" forms). There are four possible dispositions: assigned, denied, requires further information, or referred to INC.