Phone prefixes in Alberton, PE

In numbers

In-service prefixes

12

Telephone numbers covered

120,000

Carriers

7

Area codes

2

Provinces and territories

1

First assignment

July 24, 2003

Most recent assignment

August 13, 2024

Alberton’s share of its area codes

Within area code 902, Alberton accounts for only 9 of 782 prefixes (1.2%): the code is dominated by Halifax and spread over 175 rate centres. Within area code 782, Alberton accounts for only 3 of 456 prefixes (0.7%): the code is dominated by Halifax and spread over 142 rate centres.

Who holds these numbers

Iristel Inc. holds the largest share at 4 prefixes, 33.3% of the total, ahead of 6 other carriers. Code by code: in 902, Iristel Inc. leads with 2 of 9 prefixes ahead of 5 others; in 782, Iristel Inc. leads with 2 of 3 prefixes ahead of 1 others. 1 carrier holds prefixes in every one of Alberton’s 2 area codes, while 6 appear in just one.

Wireless and wireline

3 of Alberton’s 12 prefixes (25.0%) are held by carriers whose registered name marks a wireless business: Bell Mobility Aliant, Rogers Communications Canada Inc. (Wireless) and TELUS Mobility. Wireline prefixes still outnumber them, carried by Iristel Inc, Aliant Telecom (PEI), Bragg Communications Inc and Distributel. This is a sort by name, not a licence lookup, and a mobile prefix may have been ported to another network since.

How the allocation was built up

Alberton’s dated assignments run from 2003 to 2024. The busiest period was 2020–2024, when 3 prefixes went to 2 carriers. 2 prefixes (17%) carry no date in the register: these are the historic pre-1999 assignments, the wireline bedrock of the rate centre. Since 2020 another 3 prefixes have been added, so the rate centre is still growing.

Alberton’s oldest prefixes, the ones the register leaves undated, belong to Aliant Telecom (PEI): this carrier made up the landscape before competition arrived. The first dated assignment went to Bragg Communications Inc. in 2003. The most recent arrivals are Distributel (2022), Iristel Inc. (2016) and TELUS Mobility (2010), a sign that new carriers are still asking for numbers in Alberton.

Alberton has only 12 prefixes, or 120,000 numbers: a small rate centre, where the arrival of a single new carrier visibly changes the landscape.

No single carrier dominates Alberton: the leader, Iristel Inc., holds only 33.3% of the prefixes against 6 competitors, a sign of a highly fragmented market where cable companies, mobility brands and VoIP providers weigh as much as the incumbent.

Demand remains steady: 30.0% of the dated prefixes go back to the last ten years, the most active period being 2020–2024. The rate centre is growing at a regular rather than explosive pace.

2 undated in the register.

Dialling a Alberton number

Alberton is served by 2 overlaid area codes (902 and 782). A 782 number is no more “out of town” than a 902 one; from abroad, dial +1 and the full ten digits.

The numbering neighbourhood

Alberton shares area codes 902 and 782 with at least 20 other rate centres, including Halifax, Charlottetown, Sydney, Truro, Amherst, New Glasgow, Kentville and Summerside. The largest of them, Halifax, holds 220 prefixes in 782 and 902; the smallest on the list, Port Hawkesbury, has just 12.

What a Alberton number tells you

A number attached to Alberton tells you that its prefix was issued to a carrier for this rate centre in Prince Edward Island, most often Iristel Inc.. It does not tell you where the handset is today: a subscriber may have ported the number to any of the 7 carriers present here or to a VoIP service usable anywhere. Nor does it tell you who is calling: caller ID can be spoofed, and a Prince Edward Island area code is easy to borrow to look local.

Reading a register entry for Alberton: code 902-712 is recorded for Iristel Inc., so every 902-712-XXXX number (10,000 possible) descends from that assignment. “Alberton, Prince Edward Island” there names a rate centre, not a municipality, and several area codes overlay it.

Every Alberton prefix

Each row is an in-service central-office code recorded for Alberton, with its original holder and year of assignment.

Allocated prefixes

All 12 in-service prefixes, grouped by rate centre.

Elsewhere in Prince Edward Island