Phone prefixes in Arundel, QC

In numbers

In-service prefixes

4

Telephone numbers covered

40,000

Carriers

3

Area codes

2

Provinces and territories

1

First assignment

October 26, 2012

Most recent assignment

September 3, 2020

Arundel’s share of its area codes

Within area code 873, Arundel accounts for only 3 of 667 prefixes (0.4%): the code is dominated by Sherbrooke and spread over 162 rate centres. Within area code 819, Arundel accounts for only 1 of 770 prefixes (0.1%): the code is dominated by Ottawa-Hull and spread over 211 rate centres.

Who holds these numbers

ISP Telecom Inc. holds the largest share at 2 prefixes, 50.0% of the total, ahead of 2 other carriers. Code by code: in 873, ISP Telecom Inc. leads with 2 of 3 prefixes ahead of 1 others; Bell Canada is the only holder in 819. No carrier holds prefixes in every one of Arundel’s 2 area codes, while 3 appear in just one.

Wireless and wireline

None of Arundel’s holders carries a mobility brand in its registered name: all 4 prefixes belong to wireline or wholesale carriers, among them ISP Telecom Inc, Bell Canada and TELUS Quebec. A call showing a Arundel number therefore nominally comes from a landline, cable or VoIP platform rather than a locally assigned cellphone.

How the allocation was built up

Arundel’s dated assignments run from 2012 to 2020. The busiest period was 2010–2014, when 1 prefixes went to 1 carrier. 1 prefixes (25%) carry no date in the register: these are the historic pre-1999 assignments, the wireline bedrock of the rate centre. Since 2020 another 1 prefixes have been added, so the rate centre is still growing.

Arundel’s oldest prefixes, the ones the register leaves undated, belong to Bell Canada: this carrier made up the landscape before competition arrived. The first dated assignment went to ISP Telecom Inc. in 2012. The most recent arrivals are TELUS Quebec (2020) and ISP Telecom Inc. (2012), a sign that new carriers are still asking for numbers in Arundel.

Arundel has just 4 prefixes (40,000 numbers): a very small rate centre, typical of a village or rural area served by a single switching office.

ISP Telecom Inc. leads with 50.0% of the prefixes, but 2 competitors have set up in Arundel: a market where the incumbent keeps the edge without exclusivity.

Demand remains steady: 33.3% of the dated prefixes go back to the last ten years, the most active period being 2010–2014. The rate centre is growing at a regular rather than explosive pace.

1 undated in the register.

Dialling a Arundel number

Arundel is served by 2 overlaid area codes (873 and 819). A 819 number is no more “out of town” than a 873 one; from abroad, dial +1 and the full ten digits.

The numbering neighbourhood

Arundel shares area codes 873 and 819 with at least 20 other rate centres, including Ottawa-Hull, Sherbrooke, Trois-Rivieres, Drummondville, Gatineau, Victoriaville, Val-D'Or and Maniwaki. The largest of them, Ottawa-Hull, holds 119 prefixes in 819 and 873; the smallest on the list, Ville-Marie, has just 12.

What a Arundel number tells you

A number attached to Arundel tells you that its prefix was issued to a carrier for this rate centre in Quebec, most often ISP Telecom Inc.. It does not tell you where the handset is today: a subscriber may have ported the number to any of the 3 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 Quebec area code is easy to borrow to look local.

Reading a register entry for Arundel: code 873-275 is recorded for ISP Telecom Inc., so every 873-275-XXXX number (10,000 possible) descends from that assignment. “Arundel, Quebec” there names a rate centre, not a municipality, and several area codes overlay it.

Every Arundel prefix

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

Allocated prefixes

All 4 in-service prefixes, grouped by rate centre.

Elsewhere in Quebec