Gordon Swaby | New ‘658’ area code and phone number reassignment

The distribution of numbers under Jamaica’s new ‘658’ area code has begun as the Office of Utilities Regulation (OUR) assigned numbers to telecommunication providers. There is a push to encourage businesses, government ministries, agencies and individuals to comply with 10-digit dialling and its storage, to avoid confusion.

The OUR has responsibility for the administration of numbering resources used in the provision of telecommunication services and its efficient management. One such practice is the reassignment of telephone numbers to prevent the premature exhaustion of area codes. The demand for numbering resources is expected to increase, as they are also being utilised for machine-to-machine communications and between internet of things devices.

The OUR has been receiving queries about whether the availability of the new area code will reduce the likelihood of persons being assigned previously assigned numbers. The short answer is no. The further explanation is that there have always been complaints about the reassignment of phone numbers, resulting in the new user getting calls intended for the number’s previous owner, much to their annoyance. So, why is this allowed?

First, phone numbers are a public resource, not owned by telecom providers or customers, and so there is no guarantee of a lifetime assignment. The resources cannot be sold, brokered, bartered, or leased by the providers for a fee or other consideration, except in a manner consistent with the OUR’s direction.

Since telephone numbers are a finite resource, they must be managed accordingly. The Jamaican Numbering Plan Area (NPA) Codes (Area Codes) are assigned to Jamaica by the North American Numbering Plan Administrator (NANPA), under the North American Numbering Plan (NANP), the telephone numbering plan for 20 countries primarily in North America and the Caribbean. These countries are required to assign these resources effectively and efficiently, to prevent premature exhaustion under the NANP and the costly impact of having to expand numbering to provide additional resources.

Reassigning a number follows three distinct phases:

DISCONNECTION

Persons or entities assigned numbers are expected to use the services associated with those numbers in accordance with the terms of their service provider’s contract. Any breach or the occurrence of specified circumstances may result in a disconnection of service, here meaning, blocking any communications to and from the number.

The OUR’s General Consumer Code of Practice for the Telecommunications Industry outlines conditions under which numbers can be disconnected when the customer:

- Has failed to pay a bill in its entirety by the due date and a complaint or enquiry about the bill has not been lodged.

- Is no longer an active subscriber, based on the applicable subscriber life cycle.

- Has breached the acceptable use policy or other relevant contract terms.

As well as when the contract period has ended or if the OUR or any other appropriate authority, in the exercise of its powers, requires disconnection.

One recommendation states that “Licensees should make publicly available details of the procedures for disconnecting customers” and includes the recommended procedures before disconnection. The OUR is revising that document, which should make it clear that customers should be advised that they will lose their numbers if disconnected.

AGEING

Having disconnected a number, operators are required to ‘age’ it before reassignment. What does this mean? The Jamaica Ageing Guidelines define “ageing” as “the process of making a disconnected telephone number temporarily unavailable for re-assignment to another customer for a specified period of time called the ageing interval”. Therefore, numbers that are disconnected are not immediately reassigned. ‘Ageing’ aims to minimise misdirected calls intended for the previous customer when a number has been reassigned. Providers are required to apply the ageing intervals to the respective class of service.

Ageing Intervals

Class of Service

Ageing Interval in Months

Min Max

Residential 1 3

Business 3 12 *

Non-Business

Mobile 1 3

* The 12-month maximum may be required to accommodate local directory publishing dates, high-volume call-in applications, or changes to numbers associated with public service emergency applications.

During the ageing intervals, providers must either inform persons who call the disconnected number that the number is no longer in service or advise them of the customer’s new number.

During this period, the disconnected customer can request a return of their number.

The ageing guidelines make the following provisions:

“Once the disconnecting service provider has initiated the ageing process for a disconnected telephone number, the disconnecting service provider shall not modify the ageing interval unless requested by the disconnected customer or the ageing interval is modified by regulatory order.

A disconnecting service provider shall not re-assign a telephone number that is being aged, except to reassign the telephone number to the customer who originally disconnected the telephone number and who is reconnecting service with the disconnecting service provider.”

Ageing (or quarantining) and reassignment is not unique. For example, the US Federal Communications Commission reports that approximately thirty-five million numbers are disconnected and aged annually and about 100,000 numbers are reassigned daily by wireless carriers. The OUR is engaged in discussions with the service providers to make changes to the current ageing guidelines.

REASSIGNMENT

If the subscriber does not try to retain the number during the ageing period, then it is entered into a batch to be reassigned.

So, the availability of more numbers under the ‘658’ area code will not impact the ability of the providers to disconnect and reassign numbers. It is to ensure that we can meet increased demands and that, with the continuing boom in the telecoms industry, investors and others in the market have enough for their businesses.

Gordon Swaby is a telecommunications engineer at the OUR.