ROANOKE TIMES 
                      Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times

DATE: Monday, November 18, 1996              TAG: 9611180049
SECTION: VIRGINIA                 PAGE: C-4  EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Associated Press

VA. TO GET YET ANOTHER AREA CODE BUT THIS ONE WILL BE IN HIGH-TECH NORTH

The high demand for new telephone numbers in Northern Virginia means the region will be getting an additional area code by late 1999, three years sooner than expected, Bell Atlantic Corp. says.

``We've seen explosive growth in the requirement for telephone numbers, especially here in Virginia,'' said Hugh Stallard, president of Bell Atlantic-Virginia. He said the increasing popularity of cellular phones, fax machines, pagers and computer modems have spawned the growth.

Before the new area code is added, though, the local telephone company and its rivals are expected to battle over whether hundreds of thousands of residents will have to change their area codes to make room for the new one.

Companies planning to compete with Bell Atlantic in offering local phone service include AT&T Corp., MCI Communications and Sprint Corp.

If the traditional approach of dividing the region in half is taken, the downtown business districts in Alexandria and Arlington and close-in suburbs would keep the 703 area code, while the rest would get the new area code.

Bell Atlantic, however, opposes splitting the region into geographic boundaries and has proposed assigning the new area code to all new telephone subscribers. That approach already has been approved elsewhere.

Each proposal offers trade-offs for consumers.

Under Bell Atlantic's proposal, telephone subscribers would not have to change their phone numbers, but would have to dial 10-digit numbers for all calls, including those made locally.

Under the more traditional approach preferred by the other companies, a majority of subscribers would be forced to change their telephone numbers.

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