A public hearing is set for Thursday night in Scranton to discuss the inevitable change in the 570 area code, expected to occur in 2011.
The Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission (PUC), which oversees telecommunications for the Commonwealth, has proposed three plans to address the issue, all of which involve splitting the current “570” geographic coverage area. A second area code would be added to the region.
One of the proposed plans is to split the geographic region, horizontally through Wayne County. This will be done along the northern borders of the Beach Lake, Honesdale and Forest City rate centers.
“I think it would create more expense for the businesses,” said Donna LaBar, executive director of the Wayne County Chamber of Commerce. “It would be an inconvenience and maybe a loss of business. I would not like to see Wayne County split,” she said.
“You may think… what is the big deal? It’s just an inconvenience to adjust to a new phone number,” said Danielle Jordan, executive director of the Pike County Chamber of Commerce. “Now please consider how many marketing materials that businesses advertise their contact information on. From the small item of a business card to expansive marketing campaigns with websites, commercials and billboards… all of this would have to be updated. This area code change would have a tremendous financial impact on our local Pike County business community.”
The public hearing at 6 p.m. will be held in the Scranton State Office Building located at 100 Lackawanna Ave., Scranton, room 318.
The 570 area code is expected to exhaust its telephone numbers in the 3rd quarter of 2011. New codes are needed when existing area codes exhaust their supply of “NXX” codes (which is the second set of three digits in a 10-digit telephone number, NPA-NXX-XXXX).
Scranton —
