Though area code updates and changes are frequently in the news, there are some that are much more controversial than others.

For example, area code 310 in California was split from the area code 213. The area code 310 then belonged to West Los Angeles and South Bay areas, while 213 – at first – was for all of Southern California, though it is now exclusively Downtown LA.

In 1997, the south and east parts of the 310 region became the 562 area code. Instead of splitting again, another area code, in overlay this time, for the 310 region was introduced in 1999 – the area code 424. Initially, it was to be a geographical split, but the uproar from the business community – who would be incurring substantial costs from the change in their area code on their business cards, signage, stationary, and even in their customers’ memories – that an overlay was decided upon.

However, the controversy was not finished with the 424 overlay. Now the residents of LA needed to dial 10 digits whenever they made local calls. A protest movement then arose, championed by Robert Scheer – an LA Times Columnist from the Santa Monica insert section – which focused on the conservation of telephone numbers.

The protest rejected the antiquated concept that telephone companies must buy telephone numbers in blocks of 10,000, leading to a substantial volume of unused telephone numbers.

In response to the controversy, the California Assembly passed the Consumer Area Code Relief Act of 1999 and the 424 overlay’s consideration was postponed.

The protests held off the 424 overlay by almost seven years. In July of 2006, the 424 overlay was finally implemented, and all new telephone numbers issued within the 310 area code region will now be either 310 or 424. At that same time, 10-digit local dialing became necessary and mandatory.