The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:

(a) The explosive demand for new area codes in California requires more area codes to be established than was envisioned when this chapter and Section 2887 were enacted in 1990.

(b) Because of the advent of competition in the local telecommunications market, and a decision by the Federal Communications Commission, new area codes are established by the North American Numbering Plan Administrator in conjunction with the commission and members of the telecommunications industry.

(c) In order to eliminate potential confusion for all the parties involved in the process of establishing new area codes, the changes to this chapter enacted in the 1997–98 Regular Session include identifying “providers” in Section 7931.

(d) The “providers” specified in Section 7931 include telephone corporations and resellers that are regulated by the commission, and paging companies that are not regulated by the commission. It is necessary to include all of these entities within the term “providers” in order to effectively meet the needs of the state as they relate to the establishment of new area codes. The Legislature does not, however, by including paging companies as “providers” in Section 7931, intend to expand the jurisdiction of the commission over paging companies beyond the requirements of this chapter. The Legislature continues to recognize the status of paging companies as unregulated entities.

(Repealed and added by Stats. 1998, Ch. 534, Sec. 3. Effective January 1, 1999.)