Phone prefixes in Fort St. James, BC

In numbers

In-service prefixes

6

Telephone numbers covered

60,000

Carriers

6

Area codes

3

Provinces and territories

1

First assignment

September 19, 2007

Most recent assignment

October 26, 2020

Fort St. James’s share of its area codes

Within area code 236, Fort St. James accounts for only 2 of 745 prefixes (0.3%): the code is dominated by Vancouver and spread over 269 rate centres. Within area code 250, Fort St. James accounts for only 2 of 781 prefixes (0.3%): the code is dominated by Victoria and spread over 268 rate centres. Within area code 778, Fort St. James accounts for only 2 of 779 prefixes (0.3%): the code is dominated by Vancouver and spread over 159 rate centres.

Who holds these numbers

Bell Mobility holds the largest share at 1 prefixes, 16.7% of the total, ahead of 5 other carriers. Code by code: in 236, Bell West Inc. leads with 1 of 2 prefixes ahead of 1 others; in 250, Bell Mobility leads with 1 of 2 prefixes ahead of 1 others; in 778, Rogers Communications Canada Inc. (Wireless) leads with 1 of 2 prefixes ahead of 1 others. No carrier holds prefixes in every one of Fort St. James’s 3 area codes, while 6 appear in just one.

Wireless and wireline

3 of Fort St. James’s 6 prefixes (50.0%) are held by carriers whose registered name marks a wireless business: Bell Mobility, Rogers Communications Canada Inc. (Wireless) and TELUS Mobility. Wireline prefixes still outnumber them, carried by Bell West Inc, Navigata Communications Limited and TELUS. 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 St. James’s dated assignments run from 2007 to 2020. The busiest period was 2005–2009, when 3 prefixes went to 3 carriers. 1 prefixes (17%) 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.

Fort St. James’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 Bell Mobility in 2007. The most recent arrivals are Bell West Inc. (2020), Navigata Communications Limited (2016) and TELUS Mobility (2008), a sign that new carriers are still asking for numbers in Fort St. James.

Fort St. James 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.

No single carrier dominates Fort St. James: the leader, Bell Mobility, holds only 16.7% 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: 20.0% of the dated prefixes go back to the last ten years, the most active period being 2005–2009. The rate centre is growing at a regular rather than explosive pace.

1 undated in the register.

Dialling a Fort St. James number

Fort St. James is served by 3 overlaid area codes (236, 250 and 778). A 778 number is no more “out of town” than a 236 one; from abroad, dial +1 and the full ten digits.

The numbering neighbourhood

Fort St. James shares area codes 236, 250 and 778 with at least 20 other rate centres, including Vancouver, Victoria, Kelowna, New Westminster, Nanaimo, South Kamloops, Prince George and Abbotsford. The largest of them, Vancouver, holds 314 prefixes in 236 and 778; the smallest on the list, North Vancouver, has just 21.

What a Fort St. James number tells you

A number attached to Fort St. James tells you that its prefix was issued to a carrier for this rate centre in British Columbia, most often Bell Mobility. 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 Fort St. James: code 250-406 is recorded for Bell Mobility, so every 250-406-XXXX number (10,000 possible) descends from that assignment. “Fort St. James, British Columbia” there names a rate centre, not a municipality, and several area codes overlay it.

Every Fort St. James prefix

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

Had a call from a Fort St. James 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