Phone prefixes in Aylesford, NS

In numbers

In-service prefixes

7

Telephone numbers covered

70,000

Carriers

5

Area codes

2

Provinces and territories

1

First assignment

October 24, 2001

Most recent assignment

December 24, 2015

Aylesford’s share of its area codes

Within area code 902, Aylesford accounts for only 6 of 782 prefixes (0.8%): the code is dominated by Halifax and spread over 174 rate centres. Within area code 782, Aylesford accounts for only 1 of 460 prefixes (0.2%): the code is dominated by Halifax and spread over 142 rate centres.

Who holds these numbers

Aliant Telecom (NS) holds the largest share at 2 prefixes, 28.6% of the total, ahead of 4 other carriers. Code by code: in 902, Aliant Telecom (NS) leads with 2 of 6 prefixes ahead of 3 others; TELUS Integrated Communications is the only holder in 782. No carrier holds prefixes in every one of Aylesford’s 2 area codes, while 5 appear in just one.

Wireless and wireline

2 of Aylesford’s 7 prefixes (28.6%) are held by carriers whose registered name marks a wireless business: Bell Mobility Aliant and TELUS Mobility. Wireline prefixes still outnumber them, carried by Aliant Telecom (NS), Bragg Communications Inc and TELUS Integrated Communications. 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

Aylesford’s dated assignments run from 2001 to 2015. The busiest period was 2010–2014, when 2 prefixes went to 2 carriers. 3 prefixes (43%) carry no date in the register: these are the historic pre-1999 assignments, the wireline bedrock of the rate centre. No prefix has been added since 2020: demand for numbers in Aylesford is flat.

Aylesford’s oldest prefixes, the ones the register leaves undated, belong to Aliant Telecom (NS) and Bell Mobility Aliant: these carriers made up the landscape before competition arrived. The first dated assignment went to Bragg Communications Inc. in 2001. The most recent arrivals are TELUS Integrated Communications (2015), TELUS Mobility (2010) and Bragg Communications Inc. (2001), a sign that new carriers are still asking for numbers in Aylesford.

Aylesford has just 7 prefixes (70,000 numbers): a very small rate centre, typical of a village or rural area served by a single switching office.

No single carrier dominates Aylesford: the leader, Aliant Telecom (NS), holds only 28.6% of the prefixes against 4 competitors, a sign of a highly fragmented market where cable companies, mobility brands and VoIP providers weigh as much as the incumbent.

Allocation is mature: only 0.0% of the dated prefixes are less than ten years old, most having been handed out in 2010–2014, and 3 prefixes go back to the undated monopoly era. New Aylesford numbers mostly come out of blocks that were assigned long ago.

3 undated in the register.

Dialling a Aylesford number

Aylesford 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

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

What a Aylesford number tells you

A number attached to Aylesford tells you that its prefix was issued to a carrier for this rate centre in Nova Scotia, most often Aliant Telecom (NS). It does not tell you where the handset is today: a subscriber may have ported the number to any of the 5 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 Nova Scotia area code is easy to borrow to look local.

Reading a register entry for Aylesford: code 902-847 is recorded for Aliant Telecom (NS), so every 902-847-XXXX number (10,000 possible) descends from that assignment. “Aylesford, Nova Scotia” there names a rate centre, not a municipality, and several area codes overlay it.

Every Aylesford prefix

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

Had a call from a Aylesford number?

No clear pattern in reports on these numbers yet. If a call worried you:

1. Call back on a number you trust

   If a caller says they are your bank, the Canada Revenue Agency, a courier or your phone company, hang up and call the organization on the number from its website or your statement, never the number that called you. Caller ID can be faked.

2. Report the fraud

   Report the call or text to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre online or at 1-888-495-8501. If you lost money or gave out personal details, tell your bank first, then your local police.

   Report to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre ↗

3. Register on the National Do Not Call List

   Registering a landline or mobile on the National DNCL is free. Registered charities, political parties, newspapers and companies you already do business with may still call.

   National Do Not Call List ↗Who can still call you ↗

4. Forward suspicious texts to 7726

   Forward a scam or spam text to 7726 (SPAM on the keypad). It's free, and your carrier uses it to block the sender. Don't tap links or reply.

   Get Cyber Safe: forwarding to 7726 ↗

Allocated prefixes

All 7 in-service prefixes, grouped by rate centre.

Elsewhere in Nova Scotia