Phone prefixes in Bowmanville, ON

In numbers

In-service prefixes

16

Telephone numbers covered

160,000

Carriers

10

Area codes

4

Provinces and territories

1

First assignment

December 14, 2004

Most recent assignment

August 27, 2024

Bowmanville’s share of its area codes

Within area code 365, Bowmanville accounts for only 7 of 702 prefixes (1.0%): the code is dominated by Markham and spread over 88 rate centres. Within area code 289, Bowmanville accounts for only 5 of 772 prefixes (0.6%): the code is dominated by Hamilton and spread over 87 rate centres. Within area code 905, Bowmanville 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, Bowmanville accounts for only 1 of 146 prefixes (0.7%): the code is dominated by Brampton and spread over 68 rate centres.

Who holds these numbers

Iristel Inc. holds the largest share at 4 prefixes, 25.0% of the total, ahead of 9 other carriers. Code by code: in 365, Iristel Inc. leads with 2 of 7 prefixes ahead of 5 others; in 289, Iristel Inc. leads with 2 of 5 prefixes ahead of 2 others; in 905, Bell Canada leads with 2 of 3 prefixes ahead of 1 others; Beanfield Technologies Inc. is the only holder in 742. No carrier holds prefixes in every one of Bowmanville’s 4 area codes, while 8 appear in just one.

Wireless and wireline

None of Bowmanville’s holders carries a mobility brand in its registered name: all 16 prefixes belong to wireline or wholesale carriers, among them Iristel Inc, Fibernetics Corporation, Bell Canada and Beanfield Technologies Inc. A call showing a Bowmanville number therefore nominally comes from a landline, cable or VoIP platform rather than a locally assigned cellphone.

How the allocation was built up

Bowmanville’s dated assignments run from 2004 to 2024. The busiest period was 2020–2024, when 6 prefixes went to 5 carriers. 2 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 6 prefixes have been added, so the rate centre is still growing.

Bowmanville’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 Beanfield Technologies Inc. (2021), TekSavvy Solutions Inc (2021) and ISP Telecom Inc. (2021), a sign that new carriers are still asking for numbers in Bowmanville.

Bowmanville has only 16 prefixes, or 160,000 numbers: a small rate centre, where the arrival of a single new carrier visibly changes the landscape.

No single carrier dominates Bowmanville: the leader, Iristel Inc., holds only 25.0% of the prefixes against 9 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: 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 Bowmanville number

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

The numbering neighbourhood

Bowmanville shares area codes 365, 289, 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 Bowmanville number tells you

A number attached to Bowmanville 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 10 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 Bowmanville: code 365-513 is recorded for Iristel Inc., so every 365-513-XXXX number (10,000 possible) descends from that assignment. “Bowmanville, Ontario” there names a rate centre, not a municipality, and several area codes overlay it.

Every Bowmanville prefix

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

Allocated prefixes

All 16 in-service prefixes, grouped by rate centre.

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