Phone prefixes in High River, AB

In numbers

In-service prefixes

28

Telephone numbers covered

280,000

Carriers

14

Area codes

3

Provinces and territories

1

First assignment

June 8, 2001

Most recent assignment

April 14, 2025

High River’s share of its area codes

Within area code 403, High River accounts for only 11 of 781 prefixes (1.4%): the code is dominated by Calgary and spread over 142 rate centres. Within area code 825, High River accounts for only 9 of 769 prefixes (1.2%): the code is dominated by Calgary and spread over 301 rate centres. Within area code 587, High River accounts for only 8 of 779 prefixes (1.0%): the code is dominated by Calgary and spread over 137 rate centres.

Who holds these numbers

Iristel Inc. holds the largest share at 6 prefixes, 21.4% of the total, ahead of 13 other carriers. Code by code: in 403, TELUS leads with 3 of 11 prefixes ahead of 7 others; in 825, Iristel Inc. leads with 4 of 9 prefixes ahead of 4 others; in 587, Iristel Inc. leads with 2 of 8 prefixes ahead of 6 others. 1 carrier holds prefixes in every one of High River’s 3 area codes, while 9 appear in just one.

Wireless and wireline

5 of High River’s 28 prefixes (17.9%) are held by carriers whose registered name marks a wireless business: TELUS Mobility, Bell Mobility, Fido Solutions Inc and Rogers Communications Canada Inc. (Wireless). Wireline prefixes still outnumber them, carried by Iristel Inc, TELUS, Shaw Telecom Inc and Distributel. 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

High River’s dated assignments run from 2001 to 2025. The busiest period was 2015–2019, when 6 prefixes went to 4 carriers. 3 prefixes (11%) carry no date in the register: these are the historic pre-1999 assignments, the wireline bedrock of the rate centre. Since 2020 another 7 prefixes have been added, so the rate centre is still growing.

High River’s oldest prefixes, the ones the register leaves undated, belong to TELUS and Rogers Communications Canada Inc. (Cable): these carriers made up the landscape before competition arrived. The first dated assignment went to TELUS in 2001. The most recent arrivals are ISP Telecom Inc. (2021), Fibernetics Corporation (2020) and IXICA Communications Inc. (2018), a sign that new carriers are still asking for numbers in High River.

High River has only 28 prefixes, or 280,000 numbers: a small rate centre, where the arrival of a single new carrier visibly changes the landscape.

No single carrier dominates High River: the leader, Iristel Inc., holds only 21.4% of the prefixes against 13 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: 28.0% 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.

3 undated in the register.

Dialling a High River number

High River is served by 3 overlaid area codes (403, 825 and 587). A 587 number is no more “out of town” than a 403 one; from abroad, dial +1 and the full ten digits.

The numbering neighbourhood

High River shares area codes 403, 825 and 587 with at least 20 other rate centres, including Calgary, Edmonton, Red Deer, Lethbridge, Medicine Hat, Fort McMurray, Banff and Canmore. The largest of them, Calgary, holds 711 prefixes in 403, 587 and 825; the smallest on the list, Fox Creek, has just 14.

What a High River number tells you

A number attached to High River tells you that its prefix was issued to a carrier for this rate centre in Alberta, most often Iristel Inc.. It does not tell you where the handset is today: a subscriber may have ported the number to any of the 14 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 Alberta area code is easy to borrow to look local.

Reading a register entry for High River: code 825-530 is recorded for Iristel Inc., so every 825-530-XXXX number (10,000 possible) descends from that assignment. “High River, Alberta” there names a rate centre, not a municipality, and several area codes overlay it.

Every High River prefix

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

Allocated prefixes

All 28 in-service prefixes, grouped by rate centre.

Elsewhere in Alberta