The Prefix Is In

But this plan is proving just as unpopular as the split idea.

"I don't want to have to dial [11] numbers every time I make a phone call," Chapek said.

His boss, Jon Eckstrom, was equally skeptical. He cited a classic episode of the TV show "Seinfeld," in which Elaine gets stuck with Manhattan area code 646, which is an overlay of the more familiar 212 area code. That prompts a man to reject her for a date because he believes she lives in New Jersey, not Manhattan. Elaine ends up obtaining a dead neighbor's phone number to get back a 212 area code.

"310 represents Santa Monica. 424 or other area codes wouldn't," said Jory Wolf, who oversees information technology and telecommunications issues for the city of Santa Monica. "If we wanted new numbers for the Fire Department, we might get an overlay number, which we think would be very confusing to people."

Jack Leutza, director of the PUC's telecommunications division, said that he understood people didn't like change, but that they needed to appreciate that the shortage of telephone numbers was real.

"People really do not like to change numbers. But the need to split an area code means the area in question is growing, and it has got an active economy, and it demands more telephone numbers," he said. "We're really close to number exhaust."

The overlay plan appeals to some in the South Bay who don't want to lose the 310 area code altogether. One is Thomas Megallon, who owns 310 Tattoo & Body Piercing, which is at 310 W. Pacific Coast Highway in Wilmington and has a 310 phone number.

Even at conventions, he tries to get a 310 booth number.

"Everything is 310," said Megallon, who proudly explained how it was easy for his customers to remember his address. "We made [the name] for the address number, so we came out perfect."

There remains heavy skepticism that another area code is really needed. When the PUC moved to implement the idea in 1999, the South Bay and the Westside successfully fought it. Opponents were buoyed when officials revealed several months later that at least 3 million phone numbers were still available in the 310, and that phone carriers held on to an unknown quantity of phone numbers for future use.

"Lo and behold, the system was being gamed. There were plenty of numbers left," said Redondo Beach City Councilman John Parsons, who has been fighting against a new area code since the late 1990s.

A coalition of South Bay cities has joined to oppose the overlay proposal, warning that because the state relies heavily on the industry to project its own demand for phone numbers, it could be easy for carriers to stockpile their supply and thus automatically trigger a new area code when it's not needed.

They also support a bill by Assemblyman Mike Gordon (D-El Segundo) that supporters say would make it more difficult for phone companies to stockpile phone numbers. (The Assembly approved the legislation last week.)

Carriers insist the 310 can't last forever.

Said T-Mobile spokeswoman Susan Lipper: "The finite nature of math is catching up with us."