567 area code still oddity in NW Ohio

When people call the corporate offices of Kidz Watch Inc., a chain of day-care centers based in Sylvania Township, office administrator Peggy Zwayer said there's usually one thing people wish to know right away.

"They always ask, 'Are you local?' They think it's strange that we are still in Toledo," she said.

The source of customer's confusion: Kidz Watch's 10-digit phone number uses the "567" area code, rather than the more common "419."

The new area code for northwest Ohio was put into operation in 2001, and local callers might have become more familiar with 567 numbers had there been greater demand for them.

Both area codes serve the same territory, but the new number was instituted nine years ago because of concerns that available phone numbers with the 419 code were being used up.

Those concerns proved unfounded, even though northwest Ohio callers remain stuck dialing 10 digits even for local calls.

A key reason was that carriers prior to 2000 were required to set aside phone numbers in 10,000 phone line allotments for possible future use, but that practice changed because of improved technology to reserve just 1,000 numbers at a time.

The result freed up tens of thousands of previously earmarked numbers that were not in use.

Wayne Milby, an area code relief planner for the North American Numbering Plan Administration, in Sterling, Va., said last year just 9,000 numbers were reserved for future use and only 4,000 were set aside this year in the 419 and 567 area codes.

Latest projections by the number plan agency are that all available lines in the 419 and 567 area codes won't be exhausted until 2025, five years later than the prior estimate three years ago.

Still, 567 area code numbers are being issued. Since 2001, 1.6 million lines have been reserved by the carriers. But not all of those are in use.

Telephone providers said they could not provide how many such numbers have been used.

Frontier Communications, which took over land lines formerly belonging to Verizon Corp., hasn't issued any 567 numbers recently and isn't sure when it last issued one, spokesman Pat Amendola, said.

Joanette Romero, a spokesman for CenturyLink, which owns CenturyTel and Embarq phone companies, said it has not needed to issue any 567 lines because it still has plenty of 419 lines.

"Most of the 567 lines would be going to new wireless providers," Ms. Romero said. "The new providers are the ones that need to get new area codes."

AT&T spokesman Chris Bauer said the provider didn't have any information on any 567 lines it has put into use.

But at Verizon Wireless, spokesman Laura Merritt said her company has issued some 567 lines in the past, "but I don't know how many or how frequently."

Ms. Merritt said part of the reason many 567 numbers haven't been needed is because when people change phone carriers, they can keep their old 419 number. Before, 2001, they had to give it up.

Also, many people give up a land line for a cell phone. If they don't keep their 419 number, it goes back to a holding pool, then becomes available after a few years.

According to the numbering plan administration figures, there are still about 270,000 lines in 419 that remain unassigned.

Contact Jon Chavez at:

jchavez@theblade.com

or 419-724-6128.