Phone prefixes in Fort Albany, ON

In numbers

In-service prefixes

2

Telephone numbers covered

20,000

Carriers

1

Area codes

2

Provinces and territories

1

First assignment

November 26, 2021

Most recent assignment

November 26, 2021

Fort Albany’s share of its area codes

Within area code 249, Fort Albany accounts for only 1 of 586 prefixes (0.2%): the code is dominated by Sudbury and spread over 176 rate centres. Within area code 705, Fort Albany accounts for only 1 of 770 prefixes (0.1%): the code is dominated by Barrie and spread over 203 rate centres.

Who holds these numbers

Bell Canada holds every prefix here. Code by code: Bell Canada is the only holder in 249; Bell Canada is the only holder in 705. 1 carrier holds prefixes in every one of Fort Albany’s 2 area codes, while all of them hold prefixes in more than one.

Wireless and wireline

None of Fort Albany’s holders carries a mobility brand in its registered name: all 2 prefixes belong to wireline or wholesale carriers, among them Bell Canada. A call showing a Fort Albany number therefore nominally comes from a landline, cable or VoIP platform rather than a locally assigned cellphone.

How the allocation was built up

Fort Albany’s dated assignments run from 2021 to 2021. The busiest period was 2020–2024, when 1 prefixes went to 1 carrier. 1 prefixes (50%) 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.

Bell Canada is the only carrier ever recorded for Fort Albany: no competitor has obtained a prefix here, and the latest assignment dates from 2021. A single-carrier rate centre is typical of small communities where only the incumbent ever built a network.

Fort Albany has just 2 prefixes (20,000 numbers): a very small rate centre, typical of a village or rural area served by a single switching office.

The local market is an allocation monopoly: Bell Canada holds every prefix, and no competitor has ever requested a code for Fort Albany.

Growth is recent: 100.0% of the dated prefixes were assigned in the last ten years, peaking in 2020–2024. Fort Albany is among the rate centres where demand for numbers is still rising quickly.

Dialling a Fort Albany number

Fort Albany is served by 2 overlaid area codes (249 and 705). A 705 number is no more “out of town” than a 249 one; from abroad, dial +1 and the full ten digits.

The numbering neighbourhood

Fort Albany shares area codes 249 and 705 with at least 20 other rate centres, including Barrie, Sudbury, Peterborough, Sault Ste. Marie, North Bay, Huntsville, Collingwood and Lindsay. The largest of them, Barrie, holds 92 prefixes in 249 and 705; the smallest on the list, Kirkland Lake, has just 12.

What a Fort Albany number tells you

A number attached to Fort Albany 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 1 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 Fort Albany: code 249-316 is recorded for Bell Canada, so every 249-316-XXXX number (10,000 possible) descends from that assignment. “Fort Albany, Ontario” there names a rate centre, not a municipality, and several area codes overlay it.

Every Fort Albany prefix

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

Had a call from a Fort Albany 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 2 in-service prefixes, grouped by rate centre.

Elsewhere in Ontario