OTTAWA and GATINEAU, June 14 /CNW Telbec/ - The Canadian Radio-television
and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) today announced that effective
September 12, 2008, 10-digit local dialing will be required for all local
calls in Alberta.
To prevent the exhaustion of telephone numbers in the area code 403 and
780 regions, 10-digit dialing will begin on June 23, 2008. The change to
10-digit dialing will be gradually introduced over the following weeks and
become mandatory by September 12, 2008.
Also effective on September 12, 2008, a new area code, 587, will be
introduced to provide area code 403 and 780 regions with new numbers. This
means that customers seeking new numbers in the current 403 and 780 area code
regions could be given a number starting with area code 587.
These measures are being implemented in response to the Canadian
Numbering Administrator's forecast that the area code 403 and 780 regions will
run out of telephone numbers by March 2009 and October 2009 respectively.
The CRTC
The CRTC is an independent, public authority that regulates and
supervises broadcasting and telecommunications in Canada.
Reference documents:
Telecom Decision CRTC 2007-42, Code relief for area codes 403 and 780 -
Alberta
http://www.crtc.gc.ca/eng/whatsnew.htm
Telecom Public Notice CRTC 2007-1, Relief planning for numbering plan
areas (NPAs) 403 and 780 in Alberta
http://www.crtc.gc.ca/archive/eng/notices/2007/pt2007-1.htm
