Phone prefixes in Inverness

In numbers

In-service prefixes

14

Telephone numbers covered

140,000

Carriers

11

Area codes

5

Provinces and territories

2

First assignment

June 22, 2005

Most recent assignment

March 17, 2026

Provinces and territories

This name is used for separate rate centres in 2 provinces. The prefixes below share a name in the CNAC register but belong to different communities.

• Nova Scotia — 8 prefixes
• Quebec — 6 prefixes

Inverness’s share of its area codes

Within area code 902, Inverness accounts for only 6 of 782 prefixes (0.8%): the code is dominated by Halifax and spread over 175 rate centres. Within area code 581, Inverness accounts for only 3 of 778 prefixes (0.4%): the code is dominated by Quebec and spread over 232 rate centres. Within area code 418, Inverness accounts for only 2 of 777 prefixes (0.3%): the code is dominated by Quebec and spread over 258 rate centres. Within area code 782, Inverness accounts for only 2 of 456 prefixes (0.4%): the code is dominated by Halifax and spread over 142 rate centres. Within area code 367, Inverness accounts for only 1 of 233 prefixes (0.4%): the code is dominated by Quebec and spread over 111 rate centres.

Who holds these numbers

Aliant Telecom (NS) holds the largest share at 2 prefixes, 14.3% of the total, ahead of 10 other carriers. Code by code: in 902, Aliant Telecom (NS) leads with 2 of 6 prefixes ahead of 4 others; in 581, Videotron Ltd. leads with 2 of 3 prefixes ahead of 1 others; in 418, Bell Canada leads with 1 of 2 prefixes ahead of 1 others; in 782, Iristel Inc. leads with 1 of 2 prefixes ahead of 1 others; TELUS Quebec is the only holder in 367. No carrier holds prefixes in every one of Inverness’s 5 area codes, while 10 appear in just one.

Wireless and wireline

2 of Inverness’s 14 prefixes (14.3%) are held by carriers whose registered name marks a wireless business: Bell Mobility Aliant and TELUS Mobility. Wireline prefixes still outnumber them, carried by Aliant Telecom (NS), Iristel Inc, Videotron Ltd and Bell Canada. 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

Inverness’s dated assignments run from 2005 to 2026. The busiest period was 2015–2019, when 5 prefixes went to 4 carriers. 2 prefixes (14%) carry no date in the register: these are the historic pre-1999 assignments, the wireline bedrock of the rate centre. Since 2020 another 3 prefixes have been added, so the rate centre is still growing.

Inverness’s oldest prefixes, the ones the register leaves undated, belong to Bell Canada and Aliant Telecom (NS): these carriers made up the landscape before competition arrived. The first dated assignment went to Aliant Telecom (NS) in 2005. The most recent arrivals are TELUS Quebec (2026), Distributel (2022) and Videotron Ltd. (2017), a sign that new carriers are still asking for numbers in Inverness.

Inverness has only 14 prefixes, or 140,000 numbers: a small rate centre, where the arrival of a single new carrier visibly changes the landscape.

No single carrier dominates Inverness: the leader, Aliant Telecom (NS), holds only 14.3% of the prefixes against 10 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: 25.0% 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.

2 undated in the register.

Dialling a Inverness number

Inverness is served by 5 overlaid area codes (902, 581, 418, 782 and 367). A 367 number is no more “out of town” than a 902 one; from abroad, dial +1 and the full ten digits.

The numbering neighbourhood

Inverness shares area codes 902, 581, 418, 782 and 367 with at least 20 other rate centres, including Quebec, Halifax, Chicoutimi, Charlottetown, Alma, Sydney, Rimouski and Riviere-du-Loup. The largest of them, Quebec, holds 282 prefixes in 367, 418 and 581; the smallest on the list, Donnacona, has just 21.

What a Inverness number tells you

A number attached to Inverness tells you that its prefix was issued to a carrier for this rate centre in Nova Scotia, most often Aliant Telecom (NS). It does not tell you where the handset is today: a subscriber may have ported the number to any of the 11 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 Nova Scotia area code is easy to borrow to look local.

Reading a register entry for Inverness: code 902-258 is recorded for Aliant Telecom (NS), so every 902-258-XXXX number (10,000 possible) descends from that assignment. “Inverness, Nova Scotia” there names a rate centre, not a municipality, and several area codes overlay it.

Every Inverness prefix

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

Allocated prefixes

All 14 in-service prefixes, grouped by rate centre.

Elsewhere in Nova Scotia