Phone prefixes in Gore Bay, ON

In numbers

In-service prefixes

6

Telephone numbers covered

60,000

Carriers

4

Area codes

2

Provinces and territories

1

First assignment

August 15, 2005

Most recent assignment

September 20, 2024

Gore Bay’s share of its area codes

Within area code 249, Gore Bay accounts for only 3 of 585 prefixes (0.5%): the code is dominated by Sudbury and spread over 176 rate centres. Within area code 705, Gore Bay accounts for only 3 of 770 prefixes (0.4%): the code is dominated by Barrie and spread over 203 rate centres.

Who holds these numbers

Bell Canada holds the largest share at 2 prefixes, 33.3% of the total, ahead of 3 other carriers. Code by code: in 249, Iristel Inc. leads with 2 of 3 prefixes ahead of 1 others; in 705, Bell Canada leads with 1 of 3 prefixes ahead of 2 others. 1 carrier holds prefixes in every one of Gore Bay’s 2 area codes, while 3 appear in just one.

Wireless and wireline

2 of Gore Bay’s 6 prefixes (33.3%) are held by carriers whose registered name marks a wireless business: Bell Mobility and TELUS Mobility. Wireline prefixes still outnumber them, carried by Bell Canada and Iristel Inc. 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

Gore Bay’s dated assignments run from 2005 to 2024. The busiest period was 2005–2009, when 2 prefixes went to 2 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.

Gore Bay’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 Bell Mobility in 2005. The most recent arrivals are Iristel Inc. (2016), Bell Canada (2016) and TELUS Mobility (2007), a sign that new carriers are still asking for numbers in Gore Bay.

Gore Bay 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 Gore Bay: the leader, Bell Canada, holds only 33.3% of the prefixes against 3 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 Gore Bay number

Gore Bay 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

Gore Bay 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 Gore Bay number tells you

A number attached to Gore Bay 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 4 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 Gore Bay: code 249-746 is recorded for Bell Canada, so every 249-746-XXXX number (10,000 possible) descends from that assignment. “Gore Bay, Ontario” there names a rate centre, not a municipality, and several area codes overlay it.

Every Gore Bay prefix

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

Had a call from a Gore Bay 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 Ontario