Phone prefixes in Fort-Coulonge, QC

In numbers

In-service prefixes

8

Telephone numbers covered

80,000

Carriers

8

Area codes

3

Provinces and territories

1

First assignment

December 6, 2013

Most recent assignment

November 11, 2025

Fort-Coulonge’s share of its area codes

Within area code 873, Fort-Coulonge accounts for only 5 of 667 prefixes (0.7%): the code is dominated by Sherbrooke and spread over 162 rate centres. Within area code 819, Fort-Coulonge accounts for only 2 of 770 prefixes (0.3%): the code is dominated by Ottawa-Hull and spread over 211 rate centres. Within area code 468, Fort-Coulonge accounts for only 1 of 67 prefixes (1.5%): the code is dominated by Ottawa-Hull and spread over 57 rate centres.

Who holds these numbers

Bell Canada holds the largest share at 1 prefixes, 12.5% of the total, ahead of 7 other carriers. Code by code: in 873, Distributel leads with 1 of 5 prefixes ahead of 4 others; in 819, Bell Canada leads with 1 of 2 prefixes ahead of 1 others; ISP Telecom Inc. is the only holder in 468. No carrier holds prefixes in every one of Fort-Coulonge’s 3 area codes, while 8 appear in just one.

Wireless and wireline

None of Fort-Coulonge’s holders carries a mobility brand in its registered name: all 8 prefixes belong to wireline or wholesale carriers, among them Bell Canada, Comwave Networks, Distributel and Fibernetics Corporation. A call showing a Fort-Coulonge number therefore nominally comes from a landline, cable or VoIP platform rather than a locally assigned cellphone.

How the allocation was built up

Fort-Coulonge’s dated assignments run from 2013 to 2025. The busiest period was 2015–2019, when 3 prefixes went to 3 carriers. 1 prefixes (13%) carry no date in the register: these are the historic pre-1999 assignments, the wireline bedrock of the rate centre. Since 2020 another 3 prefixes have been added, so the rate centre is still growing.

Fort-Coulonge’s oldest prefixes, the ones the register leaves undated, belong to Bell Canada: this carrier made up the landscape before competition arrived. The first dated assignment went to Comwave Networks in 2013. The most recent arrivals are TELUS Quebec (2025), ISP Telecom Inc. (2023) and Fibernetics Corporation (2021), a sign that new carriers are still asking for numbers in Fort-Coulonge.

Fort-Coulonge has just 8 prefixes (80,000 numbers): a very small rate centre, typical of a village or rural area served by a single switching office.

No single carrier dominates Fort-Coulonge: the leader, Bell Canada, holds only 12.5% of the prefixes against 7 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: 42.9% of the dated prefixes go back to the last ten years, the most active period being 2015–2019. The rate centre is growing at a regular rather than explosive pace.

1 undated in the register.

Dialling a Fort-Coulonge number

Fort-Coulonge is served by 3 overlaid area codes (873, 819 and 468). A 468 number is no more “out of town” than a 873 one; from abroad, dial +1 and the full ten digits.

The numbering neighbourhood

Fort-Coulonge shares area codes 873, 819 and 468 with at least 20 other rate centres, including Ottawa-Hull, Sherbrooke, Trois-Rivieres, Drummondville, Victoriaville, Gatineau, Val-D'Or and Maniwaki. The largest of them, Ottawa-Hull, holds 122 prefixes in 468, 819 and 873; the smallest on the list, Ville-Marie, has just 12.

What a Fort-Coulonge number tells you

A number attached to Fort-Coulonge tells you that its prefix was issued to a carrier for this rate centre in Quebec, 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 8 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 Quebec area code is easy to borrow to look local.

Reading a register entry for Fort-Coulonge: code 819-683 is recorded for Bell Canada, so every 819-683-XXXX number (10,000 possible) descends from that assignment. “Fort-Coulonge, Quebec” there names a rate centre, not a municipality, and several area codes overlay it.

Every Fort-Coulonge prefix

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

Had a call from a Fort-Coulonge 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 8 in-service prefixes, grouped by rate centre.

Elsewhere in Quebec