The State : Vanity Phone Numbers?

Pacific Bell is proposing to become the first firm in the nation to offer personalized telephone numbers. For a fee, a subscriber could get a number expressed in letters that spell something, such as his name. A company spokeswoman said a 1984 marketing survey indicated that those most likely to seek vanity numbers are young and middle-class, dress fashionably, like to own expensive things and have personalized license plates on their cars. Under Pacific Bell’s plan, which will be considered today by the state Public Utilities Commission, the charge to residential customers would be an initial $10 and $1.50 a month thereafter. Businesses also would pay $1.50 a month, but the initial charge would be $38.