Phone prefixes in Fort Nelson, BC

In numbers

In-service prefixes

6

Telephone numbers covered

60,000

Carriers

3

Area codes

2

Provinces and territories

1

First assignment

November 19, 2004

Most recent assignment

October 31, 2012

Fort Nelson’s share of its area codes

Within area code 250, Fort Nelson accounts for only 5 of 781 prefixes (0.6%): the code is dominated by Victoria and spread over 268 rate centres. Within area code 778, Fort Nelson accounts for only 1 of 779 prefixes (0.1%): the code is dominated by Vancouver and spread over 159 rate centres.

Who holds these numbers

Northwestel holds the largest share at 3 prefixes, 50.0% of the total, ahead of 2 other carriers. Code by code: in 250, Northwestel leads with 3 of 5 prefixes ahead of 2 others; TELUS Mobility is the only holder in 778. 1 carrier holds prefixes in every one of Fort Nelson’s 2 area codes, while 2 appear in just one.

Wireless and wireline

3 of Fort Nelson’s 6 prefixes (50.0%) are held by carriers whose registered name marks a wireless business: TELUS Mobility and Bell Mobility. Wireline prefixes still outnumber them, carried by Northwestel. 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

Fort Nelson’s dated assignments run from 2004 to 2012. The busiest period was 2000–2004, when 2 prefixes went to 2 carriers. 3 prefixes (50%) 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 Fort Nelson is flat.

Fort Nelson’s oldest prefixes, the ones the register leaves undated, belong to Northwestel: this carrier made up the landscape before competition arrived. The first dated assignment went to Bell Mobility in 2004. The most recent arrivals are TELUS Mobility (2004) and Bell Mobility (2004), a sign that new carriers are still asking for numbers in Fort Nelson.

Fort Nelson has just 6 prefixes (60,000 numbers): a very small rate centre, typical of a village or rural area served by a single switching office.

Northwestel leads with 50.0% of the prefixes, but 2 competitors have set up in Fort Nelson: a market where the incumbent keeps the edge without exclusivity.

Allocation is mature: only 0.0% of the dated prefixes are less than ten years old, most having been handed out in 2000–2004, and 3 prefixes go back to the undated monopoly era. New Fort Nelson numbers mostly come out of blocks that were assigned long ago.

3 undated in the register.

Dialling a Fort Nelson number

Fort Nelson is served by 2 overlaid area codes (250 and 778). A 778 number is no more “out of town” than a 250 one; from abroad, dial +1 and the full ten digits.

The numbering neighbourhood

Fort Nelson shares area codes 250 and 778 with at least 20 other rate centres, including Vancouver, Victoria, Kelowna, New Westminster, Nanaimo, South Kamloops, Prince George and Vernon. The largest of them, Vancouver, holds 172 prefixes in 778; the smallest on the list, Parksville, has just 16.

What a Fort Nelson number tells you

A number attached to Fort Nelson tells you that its prefix was issued to a carrier for this rate centre in British Columbia, most often Northwestel. 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 Fort Nelson: code 250-233 is recorded for Northwestel, so every 250-233-XXXX number (10,000 possible) descends from that assignment. “Fort Nelson, British Columbia” there names a rate centre, not a municipality, and several area codes overlay it.

Every Fort Nelson prefix

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

Had a call from a Fort Nelson 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 6 in-service prefixes, grouped by rate centre.

Elsewhere in British Columbia