442 Area Code Up For Debate

SAN DIEGO -- The California Public Utilities Commission has agreed to reconsider a decision made four months ago to create a 442 area code for the North County to allow for more public debate on the issue, it was reported Tuesday.

The commission plans to reopen the administrative hearing process that culminated in its April 24 decision to pull the 760 area code out of North County and replace it with 442, The San Diego Union-Tribune reported.

The commission has been under pressure to reconsider its decision from an online campaign called keep760.org.

The campaign was launched by a small business owner based in Leucadia.

Small business owners oppose the switch, saying it would be disruptive and costly, requiring them to reprint their marketing materials, the Union-Tribune reported.

The chance the commission will reverse its decision remains slim, according to the newspaper.

A new area code is needed in the North County because population growth and the proliferation of wireless phones and devices has nearly exhausted the 7.9 million numbers created when the 760 area code was established in 1997.

The existing 760 area code is expected to run out of numbers in a little more than a year, the Union-Tribune reported.