Phone prefixes in Bowen Island, BC

In numbers

In-service prefixes

8

Telephone numbers covered

80,000

Carriers

7

Area codes

4

Provinces and territories

1

First assignment

February 12, 2010

Most recent assignment

September 13, 2021

Bowen Island’s share of its area codes

Within area code 236, Bowen Island accounts for only 3 of 745 prefixes (0.4%): the code is dominated by Vancouver and spread over 269 rate centres. Within area code 778, Bowen Island accounts for only 3 of 779 prefixes (0.4%): the code is dominated by Vancouver and spread over 159 rate centres. Within area code 604, Bowen Island accounts for only 1 of 781 prefixes (0.1%): the code is dominated by Vancouver and spread over 43 rate centres. Within area code 672, Bowen Island accounts for only 1 of 321 prefixes (0.3%): the code is dominated by Vancouver and spread over 109 rate centres.

Who holds these numbers

Distributel holds the largest share at 2 prefixes, 25.0% of the total, ahead of 6 other carriers. Code by code: in 236, ISP Telecom Inc. leads with 1 of 3 prefixes ahead of 2 others; in 778, Distributel leads with 2 of 3 prefixes ahead of 1 others; TELUS is the only holder in 604; Fibernetics Corporation is the only holder in 672. No carrier holds prefixes in every one of Bowen Island’s 4 area codes, while 7 appear in just one.

Wireless and wireline

None of Bowen Island’s holders carries a mobility brand in its registered name: all 8 prefixes belong to wireline or wholesale carriers, among them Distributel, Bell West Inc, Fibernetics Corporation and ISP Telecom Inc. A call showing a Bowen Island number therefore nominally comes from a landline, cable or VoIP platform rather than a locally assigned cellphone.

How the allocation was built up

Bowen Island’s dated assignments run from 2010 to 2021. The busiest period was 2015–2019, when 4 prefixes went to 4 carriers. 1 prefixes (13%) carry no date in the register: these are the historic pre-1999 assignments, the wireline bedrock of the rate centre. Since 2020 another 2 prefixes have been added, so the rate centre is still growing.

Bowen Island’s oldest prefixes, the ones the register leaves undated, belong to TELUS: this carrier made up the landscape before competition arrived. The first dated assignment went to Distributel in 2010. The most recent arrivals are ISP Telecom Inc. (2021), Fibernetics Corporation (2020) and Shaw Telecom Inc. (2018), a sign that new carriers are still asking for numbers in Bowen Island.

Bowen Island has just 8 prefixes (80,000 numbers): a very small rate centre, typical of a village or rural area served by a single switching office.

No single carrier dominates Bowen Island: the leader, Distributel, holds only 25.0% of the prefixes against 6 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: 28.6% 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.

1 undated in the register.

Dialling a Bowen Island number

Bowen Island is served by 4 overlaid area codes (236, 778, 604 and 672). A 672 number is no more “out of town” than a 236 one; from abroad, dial +1 and the full ten digits.

The numbering neighbourhood

Bowen Island shares area codes 236, 778, 604 and 672 with at least 20 other rate centres, including Vancouver, New Westminster, Abbotsford, Victoria, Richmond, North Vancouver, Aldergrove and Kelowna. The largest of them, Vancouver, holds 740 prefixes in 236, 604, 672 and 778; the smallest on the list, Langley, has just 22.

What a Bowen Island number tells you

A number attached to Bowen Island tells you that its prefix was issued to a carrier for this rate centre in British Columbia, most often Distributel. It does not tell you where the handset is today: a subscriber may have ported the number to any of the 7 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 British Columbia area code is easy to borrow to look local.

Reading a register entry for Bowen Island: code 778-615 is recorded for Distributel, so every 778-615-XXXX number (10,000 possible) descends from that assignment. “Bowen Island, British Columbia” there names a rate centre, not a municipality, and several area codes overlay it.

Every Bowen Island prefix

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

Had a call from a Bowen Island 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 8 in-service prefixes, grouped by rate centre.

Elsewhere in British Columbia