Phone prefixes in Chipman

In numbers

In-service prefixes

5

Telephone numbers covered

50,000

Carriers

4

Area codes

3

Provinces and territories

2

First assignment

September 28, 2010

Most recent assignment

September 21, 2022

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.

• New Brunswick — 3 prefixes
• Alberta — 2 prefixes

Chipman’s share of its area codes

Within area code 506, Chipman accounts for only 3 of 677 prefixes (0.4%): the code is dominated by Moncton and spread over 88 rate centres. Within area code 780, Chipman accounts for only 1 of 780 prefixes (0.1%): the code is dominated by Edmonton and spread over 195 rate centres. Within area code 825, Chipman accounts for only 1 of 769 prefixes (0.1%): the code is dominated by Calgary and spread over 301 rate centres.

Who holds these numbers

Distributel holds the largest share at 2 prefixes, 40.0% of the total, ahead of 3 other carriers. Code by code: in 506, Distributel leads with 1 of 3 prefixes ahead of 2 others; TELUS is the only holder in 780; Distributel is the only holder in 825. No carrier holds prefixes in every one of Chipman’s 3 area codes, while 3 appear in just one.

Wireless and wireline

None of Chipman’s holders carries a mobility brand in its registered name: all 5 prefixes belong to wireline or wholesale carriers, among them Distributel, Aliant Telecom(NB), Rogers Communications Canada Inc. (Cable) and TELUS. A call showing a Chipman number therefore nominally comes from a landline, cable or VoIP platform rather than a locally assigned cellphone.

How the allocation was built up

Chipman’s dated assignments run from 2010 to 2022. The busiest period was 2010–2014, when 1 prefixes went to 1 carrier. 2 prefixes (40%) carry no date in the register: these are the historic pre-1999 assignments, the wireline bedrock of the rate centre. Since 2020 another 1 prefixes have been added, so the rate centre is still growing.

Chipman’s oldest prefixes, the ones the register leaves undated, belong to Aliant Telecom(NB) and TELUS: these carriers made up the landscape before competition arrived. The first dated assignment went to Rogers Communications Canada Inc. (Cable) in 2010. The most recent arrivals are Distributel (2016) and Rogers Communications Canada Inc. (Cable) (2010), a sign that new carriers are still asking for numbers in Chipman.

Chipman has just 5 prefixes (50,000 numbers): a very small rate centre, typical of a village or rural area served by a single switching office.

Distributel leads with 40.0% of the prefixes, but 3 competitors have set up in Chipman: a market where the incumbent keeps the edge without exclusivity.

Demand remains steady: 33.3% of the dated prefixes go back to the last ten years, the most active period being 2010–2014. The rate centre is growing at a regular rather than explosive pace.

2 undated in the register.

Dialling a Chipman number

Chipman is served by 3 overlaid area codes (506, 780 and 825). A 825 number is no more “out of town” than a 506 one; from abroad, dial +1 and the full ten digits.

The numbering neighbourhood

Chipman shares area codes 506, 780 and 825 with at least 20 other rate centres, including Edmonton, Calgary, Moncton, Saint John, Fredericton, Fort McMurray, Grande Prairie and Miramichi. The largest of them, Edmonton, holds 365 prefixes in 780 and 825; the smallest on the list, Grand Falls, has just 14.

What a Chipman number tells you

A number attached to Chipman tells you that its prefix was issued to a carrier for this rate centre in New Brunswick, most often Distributel. It does not tell you where the handset is today: a subscriber may have ported the number to any of the 4 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 New Brunswick area code is easy to borrow to look local.

Reading a register entry for Chipman: code 506-418 is recorded for Distributel, so every 506-418-XXXX number (10,000 possible) descends from that assignment. “Chipman, New Brunswick” there names a rate centre, not a municipality, and several area codes overlay it.

Every Chipman prefix

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

Allocated prefixes

All 5 in-service prefixes, grouped by rate centre.

Elsewhere in New Brunswick