Phone prefixes in Hinton, AB

In numbers

In-service prefixes

17

Telephone numbers covered

170,000

Carriers

8

Area codes

4

Provinces and territories

1

First assignment

June 19, 2000

Most recent assignment

October 10, 2023

Hinton’s share of its area codes

Within area code 368, Hinton accounts for only 6 of 78 prefixes (7.7%): the code is dominated by Calgary and spread over 10 rate centres. Within area code 780, Hinton accounts for only 6 of 780 prefixes (0.8%): the code is dominated by Edmonton and spread over 195 rate centres. Within area code 587, Hinton accounts for only 4 of 779 prefixes (0.5%): the code is dominated by Calgary and spread over 137 rate centres. Within area code 825, Hinton accounts for only 1 of 769 prefixes (0.1%): the code is dominated by Calgary and spread over 301 rate centres.

Who holds these numbers

Iristel Inc. holds the largest share at 7 prefixes, 41.2% of the total, ahead of 7 other carriers. Code by code: Iristel Inc. is the only holder in 368; in 780, TELUS leads with 3 of 6 prefixes ahead of 3 others; in 587, Iristel Inc. leads with 1 of 4 prefixes ahead of 3 others; Shaw Telecom Inc. is the only holder in 825. No carrier holds prefixes in every one of Hinton’s 4 area codes, while 6 appear in just one.

Wireless and wireline

3 of Hinton’s 17 prefixes (17.6%) 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 Iristel Inc, TELUS, Distributel and Rogers Communications Canada Inc. (Cable). 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

Hinton’s dated assignments run from 2000 to 2023. The busiest period was 2020–2024, when 6 prefixes went to 1 carrier. 2 prefixes (12%) carry no date in the register: these are the historic pre-1999 assignments, the wireline bedrock of the rate centre. Since 2020 another 6 prefixes have been added, so the rate centre is still growing.

Hinton’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 Rogers Communications Canada Inc. (Wireless) in 2000. The most recent arrivals are Shaw Telecom Inc. (2018), Rogers Communications Canada Inc. (Cable) (2017) and Iristel Inc. (2016), a sign that new carriers are still asking for numbers in Hinton.

Hinton has only 17 prefixes, or 170,000 numbers: a small rate centre, where the arrival of a single new carrier visibly changes the landscape.

Iristel Inc. leads with 41.2% of the prefixes, but 7 competitors have set up in Hinton: a market where the incumbent keeps the edge without exclusivity.

Demand remains steady: 40.0% of the dated prefixes go back to the last ten years, the most active period being 2020–2024. The rate centre is growing at a regular rather than explosive pace.

2 undated in the register.

Dialling a Hinton number

Hinton is served by 4 overlaid area codes (368, 780, 587 and 825). A 825 number is no more “out of town” than a 368 one; from abroad, dial +1 and the full ten digits.

The numbering neighbourhood

Hinton shares area codes 368, 780, 587 and 825 with at least 20 other rate centres, including Edmonton, Calgary, Fort McMurray, Grande Prairie, Red Deer, Lethbridge, Sherwood Park and Peace River. The largest of them, Edmonton, holds 504 prefixes in 368, 587, 780 and 825; the smallest on the list, High River, has just 17.

What a Hinton number tells you

A number attached to Hinton 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 8 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 Hinton: code 368-204 is recorded for Iristel Inc., so every 368-204-XXXX number (10,000 possible) descends from that assignment. “Hinton, Alberta” there names a rate centre, not a municipality, and several area codes overlay it.

Every Hinton prefix

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

Allocated prefixes

All 17 in-service prefixes, grouped by rate centre.

Elsewhere in Alberta