Phone prefixes in Bolton, ON

In numbers

In-service prefixes

19

Telephone numbers covered

190,000

Carriers

15

Area codes

4

Provinces and territories

1

First assignment

December 10, 2004

Most recent assignment

August 27, 2024

Bolton’s share of its area codes

Within area code 289, Bolton accounts for only 9 of 772 prefixes (1.2%): the code is dominated by Hamilton and spread over 87 rate centres. Within area code 365, Bolton accounts for only 5 of 702 prefixes (0.7%): the code is dominated by Markham and spread over 88 rate centres. Within area code 905, Bolton accounts for only 3 of 773 prefixes (0.4%): the code is dominated by Hamilton and spread over 94 rate centres. Within area code 742, Bolton accounts for only 2 of 146 prefixes (1.4%): the code is dominated by Brampton and spread over 68 rate centres.

Who holds these numbers

Iristel Inc. holds the largest share at 3 prefixes, 15.8% of the total, ahead of 14 other carriers. Code by code: in 289, Iristel Inc. leads with 2 of 9 prefixes ahead of 6 others; in 365, Iristel Inc. leads with 1 of 5 prefixes ahead of 4 others; in 905, Bell Canada leads with 2 of 3 prefixes ahead of 1 others; in 742, Beanfield Technologies Inc. leads with 1 of 2 prefixes ahead of 1 others. No carrier holds prefixes in every one of Bolton’s 4 area codes, while 14 appear in just one.

Wireless and wireline

None of Bolton’s holders carries a mobility brand in its registered name: all 19 prefixes belong to wireline or wholesale carriers, among them Iristel Inc, Bell Canada, Fibernetics Corporation and Beanfield Technologies Inc. A call showing a Bolton number therefore nominally comes from a landline, cable or VoIP platform rather than a locally assigned cellphone.

How the allocation was built up

Bolton’s dated assignments run from 2004 to 2024. The busiest period was 2015–2019, when 5 prefixes went to 5 carriers. 2 prefixes (11%) carry no date in the register: these are the historic pre-1999 assignments, the wireline bedrock of the rate centre. Since 2020 another 4 prefixes have been added, so the rate centre is still growing.

Bolton’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 FGLTEL Inc. (2022), Beanfield Technologies Inc. (2021) and TekSavvy Solutions Inc (2021), a sign that new carriers are still asking for numbers in Bolton.

Bolton has only 19 prefixes, or 190,000 numbers: a small rate centre, where the arrival of a single new carrier visibly changes the landscape.

No single carrier dominates Bolton: the leader, Iristel Inc., holds only 15.8% of the prefixes against 14 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: 23.5% of the dated prefixes go back to the last ten years, the most active period being 2015–2019. The rate centre is growing at a regular rather than explosive pace.

2 undated in the register.

Dialling a Bolton number

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

The numbering neighbourhood

Bolton shares area codes 289, 365, 905 and 742 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 Bolton number tells you

A number attached to Bolton tells you that its prefix was issued to a carrier for this rate centre in Ontario, most often Iristel Inc.. It does not tell you where the handset is today: a subscriber may have ported the number to any of the 15 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 Bolton: code 289-206 is recorded for Iristel Inc., so every 289-206-XXXX number (10,000 possible) descends from that assignment. “Bolton, Ontario” there names a rate centre, not a municipality, and several area codes overlay it.

Every Bolton prefix

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

Allocated prefixes

All 19 in-service prefixes, grouped by rate centre.

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