Change is a part of life.
It’s natural that we are resistant new ideas or ways of doing things because it forces us out of our comfort zones. I’ve always tried to embrace change as a challenge and opportunity, but Albuquerque’s new area code lacks a ring of virtue that would allow me to find a silver lining.
It seemed a little silly when Albuquerque small business owners began selling “Save 505!” T-shirts. How important could three digits really be? But the more you think about the issue, the more you realize they’re not the silly ones.
After public forums during which business leaders and politicians presented a seemingly endless stack of evidence against changing the area code in the state’s most populated corridor, the Public Regulation Commission this week opted to stick with its original plan to assign the New Mexico’s urban center a new area code.
The problem with the decision does not stem from an obnoxious rural versus urban competition, nor is it an overblown superiority complex that spews along I-25 from Albuquerque to Santa Fe. The more populated areas of this state may have their problems, but fighting to retain an area code and save taxpayers millions of dollars isn’t one of them.
Several phone calls I made to different University offices this week about what impact the area code change will have on UNM yielded few answers. No one is sure how much it will cost. UNM is one of the state’s biggest institutions and it surely will bear a heavy financial burden as a result of the commission’s decision.
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Area code changes are relatively common, especially with the advent of cell phones, but every other time a regulation commissioners have the option of impacting fewer businesses and government agencies, they take it.
Rather than making a change that would effect a limited part of the state, the commission ultimately will make both rural and urban residents pay because state agencies that serve both constituencies will have to make costly adjustments.
I’m not one for conspiracy theories, but those who oppose the area code assignment assert that the commission refused to reverse its original decision to avoid looking bad. Regardless of the reasoning, the change is a costly mistake that will only hurt New Mexico’s growth and development.
-Iliana Lim¢n
Editor in chief
