Phone prefixes in Cornwall, ON

In numbers

In-service prefixes

46

Telephone numbers covered

460,000

Carriers

16

Area codes

3

Provinces and territories

1

First assignment

July 13, 2000

Most recent assignment

October 3, 2024

Cornwall’s share of its area codes

Within area code 343, Cornwall accounts for only 22 of 641 prefixes (3.4%): the code is dominated by Ottawa-Hull and spread over 116 rate centres. Within area code 613, Cornwall accounts for only 21 of 772 prefixes (2.7%): the code is dominated by Ottawa-Hull and spread over 132 rate centres. Within area code 753, Cornwall accounts for only 3 of 106 prefixes (2.8%): the code is dominated by Ottawa-Hull and spread over 62 rate centres.

Who holds these numbers

Bell Canada holds the largest share at 10 prefixes, 21.7% of the total, ahead of 15 other carriers. Code by code: in 343, Iristel Inc. leads with 8 of 22 prefixes ahead of 13 others; in 613, Bell Canada leads with 9 of 21 prefixes ahead of 6 others; in 753, Rogers Communications Canada Inc. (Wireless) leads with 1 of 3 prefixes ahead of 2 others. No carrier holds prefixes in every one of Cornwall’s 3 area codes, while 8 appear in just one.

Wireless and wireline

12 of Cornwall’s 46 prefixes (26.1%) are held by carriers whose registered name marks a wireless business: TELUS Mobility, Bell Mobility, Rogers Communications Canada Inc. (Wireless) and Fido Solutions Inc. Wireline prefixes still outnumber them, carried by Bell Canada, Iristel Inc, TELUS Integrated Communications and Fibernetics Corporation. 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

Cornwall’s dated assignments run from 2000 to 2024. The busiest period was 2020–2024, when 10 prefixes went to 5 carriers. 11 prefixes (24%) carry no date in the register: these are the historic pre-1999 assignments, the wireline bedrock of the rate centre. Since 2020 another 10 prefixes have been added, so the rate centre is still growing.

Cornwall’s oldest prefixes, the ones the register leaves undated, belong to Bell Canada and TELUS Mobility: these carriers made up the landscape before competition arrived. The first dated assignment went to Rogers Communications Canada Inc. (Wireless) in 2000. The most recent arrivals are Cogeco Connexion Inc. (2023), Videotron Ltd. (2018) and Rogers Communications Canada Inc. (Cable) (2017), a sign that new carriers are still asking for numbers in Cornwall.

Cornwall’s 46 prefixes provide 460,000 numbers, which corresponds to a mid-sized city or a well-established suburb that every major carrier wants a slice of.

No single carrier dominates Cornwall: the leader, Bell Canada, holds only 21.7% of the prefixes against 15 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: 28.6% 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.

11 undated in the register.

Dialling a Cornwall number

Cornwall is served by 3 overlaid area codes (343, 613 and 753). A 753 number is no more “out of town” than a 343 one; from abroad, dial +1 and the full ten digits.

The numbering neighbourhood

Cornwall shares area codes 343, 613 and 753 with at least 20 other rate centres, including Ottawa-Hull, Kingston, Belleville, Kanata-Stittsville, Brockville, Smiths Falls, Bancroft and Carleton Place. The largest of them, Ottawa-Hull, holds 442 prefixes in 343, 613 and 753; the smallest on the list, Merrickville, has just 11.

What a Cornwall number tells you

A number attached to Cornwall tells you that its prefix was issued to a carrier for this rate centre in Ontario, most often Bell Canada. It does not tell you where the handset is today: a subscriber may have ported the number to any of the 16 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 Cornwall: code 343-605 is recorded for Bell Canada, so every 343-605-XXXX number (10,000 possible) descends from that assignment. “Cornwall, Ontario” there names a rate centre, not a municipality, and several area codes overlay it.

Every Cornwall prefix

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

Had a call from a Cornwall 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 46 in-service prefixes, grouped by rate centre.

Elsewhere in Ontario