San Francisco Bay Area Runs Low on Telephone Numbers.(Originated from San Jose Mercury News, Calif.)

Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News, March, 1996 by Bryant, Howard

SAN JOSE, Calif.--Mar. 1--Pacific Bell is due to announce a plan on Tuesday that would add three new telephone area codes in the Bay Area -- including one for the San Jose region -- but consumer groups say the phone giant is using the move to thwart competition for local phone service even before it arrives.

Population growth, combined with the explosion of pagers, faxes and cellular telephones, has scarfed up millions of numbers. Many households now have several phone numbers -- one for voice, one for a fax and, increasingly, one for a computer modem. As a result, area codes are filling up at the rate of nearly 2 million numbers per year.

In the Bay Area, Pac Bell executives say the 415 area code is "dangerously close" to reaching its capacity of 7.9...

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