NEWS Federal Communications Commission 445 12th Street, S.W. Washington, D. C. 20554 This is an unofficial announcement of Commission action. Release of the full text of a Commission order constitutes official action. See MCI v. FCC. 515 F 2d 385 (D.C. Circ 1974). News Media Information 202 / 418-0500 Internet: http://www.fcc.gov TTY: 1-888-835-5322 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: NEWS MEDIA CONTACT: September 3, 2009 Mark Wigfield at (202) 418-0253 Email: mark.wigfield@fcc.gov FCC RELEASES TELEPHONE NUMBERING RESOURCE UTILIZATION REPORT Washington, D.C. – The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) today released its latest report on telephone number utilization in the United States. Telephone number utilization refers to the percentage of telephone numbers assigned to customers compared to the total of telephone numbers assigned to carriers. The Numbering Resource Utilization Report details how those telephone numbers are being used. The report presents numbering resource utilization statistics based on December 2008 data that carriers submitted to the North American Numbering Plan Administrator (NANPA), as well as other information. Tracking number utilization is one of a number of initiatives taken by the Commission to ensure that limited numbering resources are used efficiently. Summary Data 1. Utilization Statistics by Carrier Type – Reporting carriers have nearly 1.4 billion telephone numbers. Of these, about 667 million were assigned to customers, about 635 million were available to be assigned, and about 90 million were used for other purposes, such as for administrative use. Following are utilization statistics by carrier type as of December 31, 2008: § Overall, 47.9% of all telephone numbers were assigned to customers. § The overall utilization rate for Incumbent Local Exchange Carriers (LECs) was 49.6%, down from 50.3% six months earlier. § The overall utilization rate for Cellular/PCS carriers was 65.6%, up from 65.3% six months earlier. § The overall utilization rate for Competitive LECs was 31.1%, up from 30.4% six months earlier. 2. Telephone Numbers Saved through Thousands-block Pooling – Through December 31, 2008, thousands-block pooling has made it unnecessary to distribute about 419 million telephone numbers. Thousands-block pooling is available in areas with the most demand for additional numbering resources. This means that telephone numbers can now be distributed in blocks of 1,000 rather than blocks of 10,000. This enables carriers to obtain the telephone numbers they need to serve their customers while allowing unneeded blocks to be made available to other carriers. 3. Telephone Numbers Returned – As required by the Commission’s Numbering Resource Optimization Orders, carriers are returning large quantities of telephone numbers that they do not need to the NANPA so that those numbers can be assigned to other carriers with more immediate needs. § In the fourth quarter of 2008, carriers returned 3.43 million telephone numbers to the NANPA. § In the first quarter of 2009, carriers returned 1.89 million telephone numbers to the NANPA. 4. Most Utilized Area Codes in the United States –New York’s area code 646 (which is coincident with New York City’s area code 212) is the most utilized, with 79.2% of numbers assigned to customers. Arizona’s area code 480 is next, with 76.1% of numbers assigned to customers. (The above statistics exclude area code 684, in which only one carrier is using numbers.) 5. Customers Moving Millions of Telephone Numbers to New Carriers – Since wireless number portability began on November 24, 2003, wireline customers have moved nearly 70 million telephone numbers to new wireline carriers. During the same time, wireless customers moved more than 62 million telephone numbers to new wireless carriers. This report is updated twice a year and is available in the FCC's Reference Information Center, Courtyard Level, 445 12th Street SW, Washington, DC 20554. Contact the Commission’s duplicating contractor, Best Copy and Printing, Inc., at (202) 488-5300 to purchase a copy. This and many other reports can be downloaded from the Wireline Competition Bureau Statistical Reports Internet site at www.fcc.gov/wcb/stats. -FCC- Wireline Competition Bureau contacts: Craig Stroup at (202) 418-0989 or John Vu at (202) 418-2333; TTY (202) 418-0484