Phone prefixes in Cobble Hill, BC

In numbers

In-service prefixes

10

Telephone numbers covered

100,000

Carriers

6

Area codes

4

Provinces and territories

1

First assignment

December 3, 1999

Most recent assignment

September 14, 2021

Cobble Hill’s share of its area codes

Within area code 778, Cobble Hill accounts for only 4 of 779 prefixes (0.5%): the code is dominated by Vancouver and spread over 159 rate centres. Within area code 250, Cobble Hill accounts for only 3 of 781 prefixes (0.4%): the code is dominated by Victoria and spread over 268 rate centres. Within area code 236, Cobble Hill accounts for only 2 of 745 prefixes (0.3%): the code is dominated by Vancouver and spread over 269 rate centres. Within area code 672, Cobble Hill 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

Shaw Telecom Inc. holds the largest share at 3 prefixes, 30.0% of the total, ahead of 5 other carriers. Code by code: in 778, Shaw Telecom Inc. leads with 2 of 4 prefixes ahead of 2 others; in 250, TELUS leads with 2 of 3 prefixes ahead of 1 others; in 236, Distributel leads with 1 of 2 prefixes ahead of 1 others; ISP Telecom Inc. is the only holder in 672. No carrier holds prefixes in every one of Cobble Hill’s 4 area codes, while 4 appear in just one.

Wireless and wireline

None of Cobble Hill’s holders carries a mobility brand in its registered name: all 10 prefixes belong to wireline or wholesale carriers, among them Shaw Telecom Inc, Distributel, TELUS and Bell West Inc. A call showing a Cobble Hill number therefore nominally comes from a landline, cable or VoIP platform rather than a locally assigned cellphone.

How the allocation was built up

Cobble Hill’s dated assignments run from 1999 to 2021. The busiest period was 2010–2014, when 3 prefixes went to 3 carriers. 1 prefixes (10%) 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.

Cobble Hill’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 TELUS in 1999. The most recent arrivals are ISP Telecom Inc. (2021), Fibernetics Corporation (2020) and Bell West Inc. (2014), a sign that new carriers are still asking for numbers in Cobble Hill.

Cobble Hill has only 10 prefixes, or 100,000 numbers: a small rate centre, where the arrival of a single new carrier visibly changes the landscape.

No single carrier dominates Cobble Hill: the leader, Shaw Telecom Inc., holds only 30.0% of the prefixes against 5 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: 22.2% 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.

1 undated in the register.

Dialling a Cobble Hill number

Cobble Hill is served by 4 overlaid area codes (778, 250, 236 and 672). A 672 number is no more “out of town” than a 778 one; from abroad, dial +1 and the full ten digits.

The numbering neighbourhood

Cobble Hill shares area codes 778, 250, 236 and 672 with at least 20 other rate centres, including Vancouver, Victoria, Kelowna, New Westminster, Abbotsford, Nanaimo, South Kamloops and Prince George. The largest of them, Vancouver, holds 397 prefixes in 236, 672 and 778; the smallest on the list, Campbell River, has just 22.

What a Cobble Hill number tells you

A number attached to Cobble Hill tells you that its prefix was issued to a carrier for this rate centre in British Columbia, most often Shaw Telecom Inc.. It does not tell you where the handset is today: a subscriber may have ported the number to any of the 6 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 Cobble Hill: code 778-356 is recorded for Shaw Telecom Inc., so every 778-356-XXXX number (10,000 possible) descends from that assignment. “Cobble Hill, British Columbia” there names a rate centre, not a municipality, and several area codes overlay it.

Every Cobble Hill prefix

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

Had a call from a Cobble Hill 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 10 in-service prefixes, grouped by rate centre.

Elsewhere in British Columbia