Phone prefixes in Bethesda, ON

In numbers

In-service prefixes

12

Telephone numbers covered

120,000

Carriers

12

Area codes

4

Provinces and territories

1

First assignment

December 30, 2004

Most recent assignment

July 12, 2022

Bethesda’s share of its area codes

Within area code 365, Bethesda accounts for only 6 of 702 prefixes (0.9%): the code is dominated by Markham and spread over 88 rate centres. Within area code 289, Bethesda accounts for only 2 of 772 prefixes (0.3%): the code is dominated by Hamilton and spread over 87 rate centres. Within area code 742, Bethesda accounts for only 2 of 146 prefixes (1.4%): the code is dominated by Brampton and spread over 68 rate centres. Within area code 905, Bethesda accounts for only 2 of 773 prefixes (0.3%): the code is dominated by Hamilton and spread over 94 rate centres.

Who holds these numbers

Beanfield Technologies Inc. holds the largest share at 1 prefixes, 8.3% of the total, ahead of 11 other carriers. Code by code: in 365, Distributel leads with 1 of 6 prefixes ahead of 5 others; in 289, Comwave Networks leads with 1 of 2 prefixes ahead of 1 others; in 742, Beanfield Technologies Inc. leads with 1 of 2 prefixes ahead of 1 others; in 905, Bell Canada leads with 1 of 2 prefixes ahead of 1 others. No carrier holds prefixes in every one of Bethesda’s 4 area codes, while 12 appear in just one.

Wireless and wireline

None of Bethesda’s holders carries a mobility brand in its registered name: all 12 prefixes belong to wireline or wholesale carriers, among them Beanfield Technologies Inc, Bell Canada, Comwave Networks and Distributel. A call showing a Bethesda number therefore nominally comes from a landline, cable or VoIP platform rather than a locally assigned cellphone.

How the allocation was built up

Bethesda’s dated assignments run from 2004 to 2022. The busiest period was 2020–2024, when 5 prefixes went to 5 carriers. 1 prefixes (8%) carry no date in the register: these are the historic pre-1999 assignments, the wireline bedrock of the rate centre. Since 2020 another 5 prefixes have been added, so the rate centre is still growing.

Bethesda’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 Rogers Communications Canada Inc. (Cable) in 2004. The most recent arrivals are ISP Telecom Inc. (2022), FGLTEL Inc. (2022) and Beanfield Technologies Inc. (2021), a sign that new carriers are still asking for numbers in Bethesda.

Bethesda 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 Bethesda: the leader, Beanfield Technologies Inc., holds only 8.3% of the prefixes against 11 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: 45.5% 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.

1 undated in the register.

Dialling a Bethesda number

Bethesda is served by 4 overlaid area codes (365, 289, 742 and 905). A 905 number is no more “out of town” than a 365 one; from abroad, dial +1 and the full ten digits.

The numbering neighbourhood

Bethesda shares area codes 365, 289, 742 and 905 with at least 20 other rate centres, including Hamilton, Brampton, Oshawa, St. Catharines-Thorold, Oakville, Markham, Ajax-Pickering and Cooksville. The largest of them, Hamilton, holds 221 prefixes in 289, 365, 742 and 905; the smallest on the list, Dunnville, has just 28.

What a Bethesda number tells you

A number attached to Bethesda tells you that its prefix was issued to a carrier for this rate centre in Ontario, most often Beanfield Technologies Inc.. It does not tell you where the handset is today: a subscriber may have ported the number to any of the 12 carriers present here or to a VoIP service usable anywhere. Nor does it tell you who is calling: caller ID can be spoofed, and an Ontario area code is easy to borrow to look local.

Reading a register entry for Bethesda: code 742-990 is recorded for Beanfield Technologies Inc., so every 742-990-XXXX number (10,000 possible) descends from that assignment. “Bethesda, Ontario” there names a rate centre, not a municipality, and several area codes overlay it.

Every Bethesda prefix

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

Allocated prefixes

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

Elsewhere in Ontario