Phone prefixes in Baie-Comeau, QC

In numbers

In-service prefixes

9

Telephone numbers covered

90,000

Carriers

4

Area codes

3

Provinces and territories

1

First assignment

February 26, 2002

Most recent assignment

December 27, 2024

Baie-Comeau’s share of its area codes

Within area code 418, Baie-Comeau accounts for only 4 of 777 prefixes (0.5%): the code is dominated by Quebec and spread over 258 rate centres. Within area code 581, Baie-Comeau accounts for only 3 of 778 prefixes (0.4%): the code is dominated by Quebec and spread over 232 rate centres. Within area code 367, Baie-Comeau accounts for only 2 of 233 prefixes (0.9%): the code is dominated by Quebec and spread over 111 rate centres.

Who holds these numbers

TELUS Quebec holds the largest share at 4 prefixes, 44.4% of the total, ahead of 3 other carriers. Code by code: in 418, TELUS Quebec leads with 3 of 4 prefixes ahead of 1 others; in 581, Iristel Inc. leads with 2 of 3 prefixes ahead of 1 others; in 367, Iristel Inc. leads with 1 of 2 prefixes ahead of 1 others. No carrier holds prefixes in every one of Baie-Comeau’s 3 area codes, while 2 appear in just one.

Wireless and wireline

None of Baie-Comeau’s holders carries a mobility brand in its registered name: all 9 prefixes belong to wireline or wholesale carriers, among them TELUS Quebec, Iristel Inc, Bell Canada and Cogeco Connexion Inc. A call showing a Baie-Comeau number therefore nominally comes from a landline, cable or VoIP platform rather than a locally assigned cellphone.

How the allocation was built up

Baie-Comeau’s dated assignments run from 2002 to 2024. The busiest period was 2020–2024, when 3 prefixes went to 3 carriers. 2 prefixes (22%) 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.

Baie-Comeau’s oldest prefixes, the ones the register leaves undated, belong to TELUS Quebec: this carrier made up the landscape before competition arrived. The first dated assignment went to TELUS Quebec in 2002. The most recent arrivals are Cogeco Connexion Inc. (2024), Iristel Inc. (2018) and Bell Canada (2004), a sign that new carriers are still asking for numbers in Baie-Comeau.

Baie-Comeau has just 9 prefixes (90,000 numbers): a very small rate centre, typical of a village or rural area served by a single switching office.

TELUS Quebec leads with 44.4% of the prefixes, but 3 competitors have set up in Baie-Comeau: a market where the incumbent keeps the edge without exclusivity.

Demand remains steady: 42.9% 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 Baie-Comeau number

Baie-Comeau is served by 3 overlaid area codes (418, 581 and 367). A 367 number is no more “out of town” than a 418 one; from abroad, dial +1 and the full ten digits.

The numbering neighbourhood

Baie-Comeau shares area codes 418, 581 and 367 with at least 20 other rate centres, including Quebec, Chicoutimi, Alma, Rimouski, Riviere-du-Loup, Thetford Mines, Sainte-Marie-de-Beauce and Levis. The largest of them, Quebec, holds 282 prefixes in 367, 418 and 581; the smallest on the list, Saint-Henri-de-Levis, has just 16.

What a Baie-Comeau number tells you

A number attached to Baie-Comeau tells you that its prefix was issued to a carrier for this rate centre in Quebec, most often TELUS Quebec. It does not tell you where the handset is today: a subscriber may have ported the number to any of the 4 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 Baie-Comeau: code 418-294 is recorded for TELUS Quebec, so every 418-294-XXXX number (10,000 possible) descends from that assignment. “Baie-Comeau, Quebec” there names a rate centre, not a municipality, and several area codes overlay it.

Every Baie-Comeau prefix

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

Had a call from a Baie-Comeau 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 9 in-service prefixes, grouped by rate centre.

Elsewhere in Quebec