April 26, 2023

Hallowell, Maine -Efforts by the Maine Public Utilities Commission (Commission) to preserve Maine's 207 area code have resulted in an extension of its predicted exhaustion date of more than two years to 2029. The previous exhaustion date prediction was the first quarter of 2027, according to the semi-annual review by the North American Numbering Plan Administrator (NANPA).

The Commission has been monitoring the status of the 207 area code closely since 2018 as the number of service providers in Maine began to increase significantly along with the volume of numbering resources. In January 2021, the predicted exhaust date was within four years. It has since been increased to more than six years

"Since we first became aware of the risk to Maines 207 area code, two things have become clear: that preserving the area code is important to the people of Maine and that we have tools to help do so," said Chair Philip L. Bartlett II. Our staff is dedicated to preserving Maines single area code as long as possible, he added.

Ongoing efforts to preserve the area code include:

-Facilitating the donation of number resources by one provider to another, limiting the unnecessary use of large 10,000 numbering block codes that are opened;

-Working with service providers to return blocks of unused numbers in 1,000 number increments through Commission Case #2020-00192;

-Participating in a Numbering Administration Oversight Working Group appointed by the FCC to assist the North American Numbering Council (NANC) with its oversight of the North American Numbering Plan Administrator (NANPA);

-Investigation into the feasibility of rate center consolidation pertaining to Consolidated Communications through Commission Case #2023-00009.

Commission staff will continue to pursue options to further extend Maines single area code, which not only extends the life of the 207 area code but has also served as a model for other states facing similar area code exhaustion circumstances.

Background

In 2021, the Commission petitioned the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to direct the NANPA to report on the technical, operational, and cost requirements to implement number optimization measures in the 207 area code. The FCC requested that the NANC through its NAOWG working group on numbering report back by January 2023 regarding the feasibility of implementing new number conservation measures such as individual telephone numbering pooling proposed by Maine and other states. To date, Commission efforts have resulted in the return of over 750,000 numbers to the numbering pool from unused or slightly used blocks.

The NANPA number exhaustion and prediction reports can be found at https://nationalnanpa.com/reports/reports_npa.html.

About the Commission

The Maine Public Utilities Commission regulates electric, telephone, water and gas utilities to ensure that Maine citizens have access to safe and reliable utility service at rates that are just and reasonable for all ratepayers while also helping achieve reductions in state greenhouse gas emissions. Commission programs include Maine Enhanced 911 Service, gas safety and Dig Safe. Philip L. Bartlett, II serves as Chair and Patrick Scully serves as Commissioner.

Learn more about the Commission at https://www.maine.gov/mpuc/.

CONTACT: Susan Faloon, Media Liaison CELL: 207-557-3704 EMAIL: susan.faloon@maine.gov WEBSITE: https://www.maine.gov/mpuc/