Public Service Commission Takes Step To Keep Only 406 Area Code For Montana

Montanans love living in the “406,” but Montana could run out of 406 phone numbers by 2033.

It’s not because all the numbers will be in use by far.

Still, the clock is ticking on assigning a new second area code, and there’s no question Montanans have pride around the 406.

“Montana is one of the last states with a single area code,” said Mike Sheard, with the Montana Public Service Commission. “ … The 406 area code has become a real popular feature of the state’s identity.”

Tuesday, the Public Service Commission voted unanimously to take a step to try to make sure one area code will work for a lot longer by sending a letter to Qwest Corporation, a telecommunications company that controls at least a couple of pieces of the puzzle.

It isn’t the first time the PSC has taken up the 406 area code.

In 2013, the PSC received federal permission to implement a more efficient way of assigning numbers, and it ordered telecommunications companies to follow it, according to the Great Falls Tribune. The Tribune said that change pushed back the “exhaust” date of the 406 area code for a while.

Alaska, the Dakotas, and Wyoming are among the states that still have a single area code, according to allareacodes.com.

Now, however, an organization that assigns area codes could be getting to work soon on another one for Montana.

The North American Numbering Plan Administrator oversees the distribution and use of telephone numbers across North America, and it’s the organization that projects Montana will run out of 406 numbers in the first quarter of 2033, according to a PSC staff memo.

Generally, the organization starts planning three years prior to a forecasted “exhaust” date, or the first quarter of 2030 in this case, but the staff memo said the idea might not go over well.

“The implementation of a second area code in Montana could be complicated, costly and may result in confusion and dissatisfaction,” the memo said.

However, in the letter, the PSC is requesting Qwest provide an analysis of “rate center consolidation,” basically, a different way to distribute and “conserve” phone numbers.

Qwest Corporation could not be reached for comment on Tuesday; multiple emails to media contacts were returned as no longer valid.

In a presentation and staff memo, PSC regulatory and compliance staff outlined the way area codes and phone numbers work.

The memo described the different parts of a phone number — the area code, then, the NXX code, and the four-digit line number. (For example, the PSC’s NXX number is 444, with a phone number of 406-444-6150.)

“In Montana, it is the dwindling number of unused NXX codes that is causing the state to run out of telephone numbers,” the staff memo said.

The maximum number of NXX codes available for telephone companies to use is 786, and of those, 753 are already in use, according to the staff memo. That means only 33 NXX codes are left for Montana.

Those codes are all assigned to smaller geographic areas called “rate centers,” which often coincide with municipal boundaries, the staff memo said. Montana has 516 rate centers.

Each NXX code also is associated with a specific telephone company, such as the PSC’s 444 code being connected with Qwest’s “switching center” in Helena. A call to the PSC goes to that “switching center,” which then sends it to the PSC using the last four digits.

But the memo said service providers typically want numbers in multiple rate centers to establish a footprint in a specific geographic area. Those providers are typically assigned telephone numbers in 1,000 number blocks.

“Once a service provider puts 100 or more of the numbers in a block into active service, the entire block is considered ‘contaminated,’ and the rest of the numbers in that block are reserved for the exclusive use of that service provider,” the memo said.

That demand for numbers in multiple rate centers means service providers are allocated a lot more numbers than they’ll use to serve their customers, which means many numbers are “stranded” and unusable by others, the memo said.

“It is likely the total telephone numbers that are actively in-service for Montana’s 406 area code is less than 50% of total available numbers,” the memo said.

One solution is to start combining rate centers into one, the memo said. That way, a service provider can use its chunk of numbers to serve any customer in a larger area, allocating more numbers.

One hurdle in Montana is rate centers can only be consolidated within the same local access transport area, or LATA, and Montana has an eastern and western LATA, the memo said. The state has 277 rate centers in the west and 239 in the east.

Montana has 65 service providers with 406 area code numbers assigned to them, but the staff memo said much of the demand for new NXX codes is associated with one or both of Qwest’s tandem switches.

Qwest uses most of the NXX codes in Montana, it serves the most rate centers in Montana, and it operates in the eastern and western districts, the memo said.

“These rate centers, typically in more urban areas of the state, are also where the most requests for numbers occur,” the memo said.

The memo said the idea of consolidation is not new, and the Federal Communications Commission has encouraged it whenever possible; it’s taken place in Kansas, Colorado, Iowa, Idaho, Nebraska and Maine.

In the memo, staff recommended the best starting point for consolidation would be to require Qwest, the largest user of numbers, to consolidate its 26 rate centers in the eastern area into one rate center, and consolidate its 30 rate centers in the west into one.

During discussion, PSC President Jeff Welborn said if consolidation takes place, rural areas could help more populated areas, and some numbers could be put into use that would otherwise be locked up.

“There’s a lot of potential statewide to preserve a lot of phone numbers under the 406 umbrella,” Welborn said.

Commissioner Brad Molnar wanted to know if an appeal was possible to undo the LATA designation, and he said he would be willing to call the Congressional delegation should legislation be necessary for change.

“I can’t imagine they’d be adverse to being the champion of 406,” Molnar said.

Commissioner Randy Pinocci said a waiting list could be developed for people who want a 406 number, but he’s seeing more and more people who live in Montana and don’t have a 406 area code either.

“There are people that could care less whether they have a 406, alright? And there are those people that will want one, especially businesses, or someone who kind of wants to say, ‘That’s our brand’ when you call, right?’” Pinocci said.

In the letter, the PSC will ask Qwest to provide an analysis of a consolidation of its rate centers into each of the state’s two districts, including how it would work technically; its operational efficiencies or inefficiencies; call routing impacts; and timelines and cost.

PSC Vice President Jennifer Fielder supported the move to send the letter to Qwest, but she also cautioned that promising that Montana remains the 406-only state wasn’t a sure bet because the Commission doesn’t control all the factors.