Phone prefixes in Boissevain, MB

In numbers

In-service prefixes

9

Telephone numbers covered

90,000

Carriers

8

Area codes

2

Provinces and territories

1

First assignment

March 6, 2006

Most recent assignment

January 17, 2019

Boissevain’s share of its area codes

Within area code 204, Boissevain accounts for only 6 of 781 prefixes (0.8%): the code is dominated by Winnipeg and spread over 245 rate centres. Within area code 431, Boissevain accounts for only 3 of 578 prefixes (0.5%): the code is dominated by Winnipeg and spread over 146 rate centres.

Who holds these numbers

MTS Inc. holds the largest share at 2 prefixes, 22.2% of the total, ahead of 7 other carriers. Code by code: in 204, MTS Inc. leads with 2 of 6 prefixes ahead of 4 others; in 431, Bell Mobility leads with 1 of 3 prefixes ahead of 2 others. No carrier holds prefixes in every one of Boissevain’s 2 area codes, while 8 appear in just one.

Wireless and wireline

4 of Boissevain’s 9 prefixes (44.4%) are held by carriers whose registered name marks a wireless business: Bell Mobility, Fido Solutions Inc, Rogers Communications Canada Inc. (Wireless) and TELUS Mobility. Wireline prefixes still outnumber them, carried by MTS Inc, Bell West Inc, Provincial Tel Inc and Westman Media Cooperative Ltd. 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

Boissevain’s dated assignments run from 2006 to 2019. The busiest period was 2005–2009, when 3 prefixes went to 3 carriers. 1 prefixes (11%) 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 Boissevain is flat.

Boissevain’s oldest prefixes, the ones the register leaves undated, belong to MTS Inc: this carrier made up the landscape before competition arrived. The first dated assignment went to Rogers Communications Canada Inc. (Wireless) in 2006. The most recent arrivals are Bell West Inc. (2019), Bell Mobility (2017) and TELUS Mobility (2016), a sign that new carriers are still asking for numbers in Boissevain.

Boissevain 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.

No single carrier dominates Boissevain: the leader, MTS Inc., holds only 22.2% of the prefixes against 7 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 2005–2009, and 1 prefixes go back to the undated monopoly era. New Boissevain numbers mostly come out of blocks that were assigned long ago.

1 undated in the register.

Dialling a Boissevain number

Boissevain is served by 2 overlaid area codes (204 and 431). A 431 number is no more “out of town” than a 204 one; from abroad, dial +1 and the full ten digits.

The numbering neighbourhood

Boissevain shares area codes 204 and 431 with at least 20 other rate centres, including Winnipeg, Brandon, Portage La Prairie, Steinbach, Oakbank, Stonewall, Dauphin and Selkirk. The largest of them, Winnipeg, holds 393 prefixes in 204 and 431; the smallest on the list, The Pas, has just 10.

What a Boissevain number tells you

A number attached to Boissevain tells you that its prefix was issued to a carrier for this rate centre in Manitoba, most often MTS Inc.. It does not tell you where the handset is today: a subscriber may have ported the number to any of the 8 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 Manitoba area code is easy to borrow to look local.

Reading a register entry for Boissevain: code 204-305 is recorded for MTS Inc., so every 204-305-XXXX number (10,000 possible) descends from that assignment. “Boissevain, Manitoba” there names a rate centre, not a municipality, and several area codes overlay it.

Every Boissevain prefix

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

Had a call from a Boissevain 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 Manitoba