Phone prefixes in Christina Lake, BC

In numbers

In-service prefixes

3

Telephone numbers covered

30,000

Carriers

3

Area codes

2

Provinces and territories

1

First assignment

March 28, 2016

Most recent assignment

January 15, 2018

Christina Lake’s share of its area codes

Within area code 236, Christina Lake accounts for only 2 of 745 prefixes (0.3%): the code is dominated by Vancouver and spread over 269 rate centres. Within area code 250, Christina Lake accounts for only 1 of 781 prefixes (0.1%): the code is dominated by Victoria and spread over 268 rate centres.

Who holds these numbers

Distributel holds the largest share at 1 prefixes, 33.3% of the total, ahead of 2 other carriers. Code by code: in 236, Distributel leads with 1 of 2 prefixes ahead of 1 others; TELUS is the only holder in 250. No carrier holds prefixes in every one of Christina Lake’s 2 area codes, while 3 appear in just one.

Wireless and wireline

None of Christina Lake’s holders carries a mobility brand in its registered name: all 3 prefixes belong to wireline or wholesale carriers, among them Distributel, Shaw Telecom Inc and TELUS. A call showing a Christina Lake number therefore nominally comes from a landline, cable or VoIP platform rather than a locally assigned cellphone.

How the allocation was built up

Christina Lake’s dated assignments run from 2016 to 2018. The busiest period was 2015–2019, when 2 prefixes went to 2 carriers. 1 prefixes (33%) carry no date in the register: these are the historic pre-1999 assignments, the wireline bedrock of the rate centre. No prefix has been added since 2020: demand for numbers in Christina Lake is flat.

Christina Lake’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 2016. The most recent arrivals are Shaw Telecom Inc. (2018) and Distributel (2016), a sign that new carriers are still asking for numbers in Christina Lake.

Christina Lake has just 3 prefixes (30,000 numbers): a very small rate centre, typical of a village or rural area served by a single switching office.

No single carrier dominates Christina Lake: the leader, Distributel, holds only 33.3% of the prefixes against 2 competitors, a sign of a highly fragmented market where cable companies, mobility brands and VoIP providers weigh as much as the incumbent.

Allocation is mature: only 0.0% of the dated prefixes are less than ten years old, most having been handed out in 2015–2019, and 1 prefixes go back to the undated monopoly era. New Christina Lake numbers mostly come out of blocks that were assigned long ago.

Dialling a Christina Lake number

Christina Lake is served by 2 overlaid area codes (236 and 250). A 250 number is no more “out of town” than a 236 one; from abroad, dial +1 and the full ten digits.

The numbering neighbourhood

Christina Lake shares area codes 236 and 250 with at least 20 other rate centres, including Vancouver, Victoria, Kelowna, Nanaimo, South Kamloops, Prince George, Vernon and Penticton. The largest of them, Vancouver, holds 142 prefixes in 236; the smallest on the list, Williams Lake, has just 12.

What a Christina Lake number tells you

A number attached to Christina Lake 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 3 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 Christina Lake: code 236-569 is recorded for Distributel, so every 236-569-XXXX number (10,000 possible) descends from that assignment. “Christina Lake, British Columbia” there names a rate centre, not a municipality, and several area codes overlay it.

Every Christina Lake prefix

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

Had a call from a Christina Lake 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 3 in-service prefixes, grouped by rate centre.

Elsewhere in British Columbia