Phone prefixes in Caledonia

In numbers

In-service prefixes

24

Telephone numbers covered

240,000

Carriers

14

Area codes

5

Provinces and territories

2

First assignment

March 14, 2005

Most recent assignment

August 21, 2024

Provinces and territories

This name is used for separate rate centres in 2 provinces. The prefixes below share a name in the CNAC register but belong to different communities.

• Ontario — 13 prefixes
• Nova Scotia — 11 prefixes

Caledonia’s share of its area codes

Within area code 289, Caledonia accounts for only 6 of 772 prefixes (0.8%): the code is dominated by Hamilton and spread over 87 rate centres. Within area code 365, Caledonia accounts for only 6 of 702 prefixes (0.9%): the code is dominated by Markham and spread over 88 rate centres. Within area code 782, Caledonia accounts for only 6 of 456 prefixes (1.3%): the code is dominated by Halifax and spread over 142 rate centres. Within area code 902, Caledonia accounts for only 5 of 782 prefixes (0.6%): the code is dominated by Halifax and spread over 175 rate centres. Within area code 905, Caledonia accounts for only 1 of 773 prefixes (0.1%): the code is dominated by Hamilton and spread over 94 rate centres.

Who holds these numbers

Iristel Inc. holds the largest share at 4 prefixes, 16.7% of the total, ahead of 13 other carriers. Code by code: in 289, Rogers Communications Canada Inc. (Cable) leads with 2 of 6 prefixes ahead of 3 others; in 365, Fibernetics Corporation leads with 1 of 6 prefixes ahead of 5 others; in 782, Fibernetics Corporation leads with 2 of 6 prefixes ahead of 4 others; in 902, Iristel Inc. leads with 3 of 5 prefixes ahead of 2 others; Bell Canada is the only holder in 905. No carrier holds prefixes in every one of Caledonia’s 5 area codes, while 9 appear in just one.

Wireless and wireline

1 of Caledonia’s 24 prefixes (4.2%) are held by carriers whose registered name marks a wireless business: Bell Mobility Aliant. Wireline prefixes still outnumber them, carried by Iristel Inc, Fibernetics Corporation, Distributel and ISP Telecom Inc. 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

Caledonia’s dated assignments run from 2005 to 2024. The busiest period was 2015–2019, when 8 prefixes went to 5 carriers. 2 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 8 prefixes have been added, so the rate centre is still growing.

Caledonia’s oldest prefixes, the ones the register leaves undated, belong to Aliant Telecom (NS) and Bell Canada: these carriers made up the landscape before competition arrived. The first dated assignment went to Zayo Canada Inc. in 2005. The most recent arrivals are Beanfield Technologies Inc. (2021), Fibernetics Corporation (2020) and TekSavvy Solutions Inc (2020), a sign that new carriers are still asking for numbers in Caledonia.

Caledonia has only 24 prefixes, or 240,000 numbers: a small rate centre, where the arrival of a single new carrier visibly changes the landscape.

No single carrier dominates Caledonia: the leader, Iristel Inc., holds only 16.7% of the prefixes against 13 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: 36.4% 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 Caledonia number

Caledonia is served by 5 overlaid area codes (289, 365, 782, 902 and 905). A 905 number is no more “out of town” than a 289 one; from abroad, dial +1 and the full ten digits.

The numbering neighbourhood

Caledonia shares area codes 289, 365, 782, 902 and 905 with at least 20 other rate centres, including Halifax, Hamilton, Oshawa, Brampton, St. Catharines-Thorold, Oakville, Markham and Cooksville. The largest of them, Halifax, holds 220 prefixes in 782 and 902; the smallest on the list, Milton, has just 39.

What a Caledonia number tells you

A number attached to Caledonia 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 14 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 Caledonia: code 782-297 is recorded for Iristel Inc., so every 782-297-XXXX number (10,000 possible) descends from that assignment. “Caledonia, Ontario” there names a rate centre, not a municipality, and several area codes overlay it.

Every Caledonia prefix

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

Allocated prefixes

All 24 in-service prefixes, grouped by rate centre.

Elsewhere in Ontario