Phone prefixes in Guelph, ON

In numbers

In-service prefixes

72

Telephone numbers covered

720,000

Carriers

18

Area codes

3

Provinces and territories

1

First assignment

June 1, 2000

Most recent assignment

September 24, 2024

Guelph’s share of its area codes

Within area code 519, Guelph accounts for only 33 of 779 prefixes (4.2%): the code is dominated by London and spread over 210 rate centres. Within area code 226, Guelph accounts for only 27 of 778 prefixes (3.5%): the code is dominated by London and spread over 166 rate centres. Within area code 548, Guelph accounts for only 12 of 502 prefixes (2.4%): the code is dominated by London and spread over 170 rate centres.

Who holds these numbers

Bell Canada holds the largest share at 14 prefixes, 19.4% of the total, ahead of 17 other carriers. Code by code: in 519, Bell Canada leads with 13 of 33 prefixes ahead of 7 others; in 226, Iristel Inc. leads with 4 of 27 prefixes ahead of 13 others; in 548, Iristel Inc. leads with 2 of 12 prefixes ahead of 9 others. 2 carriers hold prefixes in every one of Guelph’s 3 area codes, while 6 appear in just one.

Wireless and wireline

25 of Guelph’s 72 prefixes (34.7%) are held by carriers whose registered name marks a wireless business: Rogers Communications Canada Inc. (Wireless), Bell Mobility, TELUS Mobility and Fido Solutions Inc. Wireline prefixes still outnumber them, carried by Bell Canada, Iristel Inc, Rogers Communications Canada Inc. (Cable) and TELUS Integrated Communications. 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

Guelph’s dated assignments run from 2000 to 2024. The busiest period was 2005–2009, when 13 prefixes went to 9 carriers. 18 prefixes (25%) carry no date in the register: these are the historic pre-1999 assignments, the wireline bedrock of the rate centre. Since 2020 another 10 prefixes have been added, so the rate centre is still growing.

Guelph’s oldest prefixes, the ones the register leaves undated, belong to Bell Canada, Rogers Communications Canada Inc. (Wireless) and Fido Solutions Inc: 6 carriers made up the landscape before competition arrived. The first dated assignment went to Bell Canada in 2000. The most recent arrivals are IXICA Communications Inc. (2020), Rogers Communications Canada Inc. (2019) and InnSysVoice Corp (2015), a sign that new carriers are still asking for numbers in Guelph.

Guelph’s 72 prefixes provide 720,000 numbers, which corresponds to a mid-sized city or a well-established suburb that every major carrier wants a slice of.

No single carrier dominates Guelph: the leader, Bell Canada, holds only 19.4% of the prefixes against 17 competitors, a sign of a highly fragmented market where cable companies, mobility brands and VoIP providers weigh as much as the incumbent.

Allocation is mature: only 18.5% of the dated prefixes are less than ten years old, most having been handed out in 2005–2009, and 18 prefixes go back to the undated monopoly era. New Guelph numbers mostly come out of blocks that were assigned long ago.

18 undated in the register.

Dialling a Guelph number

Guelph is served by 3 overlaid area codes (519, 226 and 548). A 548 number is no more “out of town” than a 519 one; from abroad, dial +1 and the full ten digits.

The numbering neighbourhood

Guelph shares area codes 519, 226 and 548 with at least 20 other rate centres, including London, Kitchener-Waterloo, Windsor, Brantford, Sarnia, Chatham, Hespeler and Owen Sound. The largest of them, London, holds 215 prefixes in 226, 519 and 548; the smallest on the list, St. Thomas, has just 15.

What a Guelph number tells you

A number attached to Guelph 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 18 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 Guelph: code 519-763 is recorded for Bell Canada, so every 519-763-XXXX number (10,000 possible) descends from that assignment. “Guelph, Ontario” there names a rate centre, not a municipality, and several area codes overlay it.

Every Guelph prefix

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

Had a call from a Guelph 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 72 in-service prefixes, grouped by rate centre.

Elsewhere in Ontario