Phone prefixes in La Baie (Chicoutimi Co.), QC

In numbers

In-service prefixes

11

Telephone numbers covered

110,000

Carriers

8

Area codes

3

Provinces and territories

1

First assignment

January 21, 2005

Most recent assignment

March 22, 2023

La Baie (Chicoutimi Co.)’s share of its area codes

Within area code 418, La Baie (Chicoutimi Co.) accounts for only 5 of 777 prefixes (0.6%): the code is dominated by Quebec and spread over 258 rate centres. Within area code 581, La Baie (Chicoutimi Co.) accounts for only 5 of 778 prefixes (0.6%): the code is dominated by Quebec and spread over 232 rate centres. Within area code 367, La Baie (Chicoutimi Co.) 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

Bell Canada holds the largest share at 3 prefixes, 27.3% of the total, ahead of 7 other carriers. Code by code: in 418, Bell Canada leads with 3 of 5 prefixes ahead of 1 others; in 581, Bell Aliant, a division of Bell Canada leads with 1 of 5 prefixes ahead of 4 others; ISP Telecom Inc. is the only holder in 367. No carrier holds prefixes in every one of La Baie (Chicoutimi Co.)’s 3 area codes, while 8 appear in just one.

Wireless and wireline

None of La Baie (Chicoutimi Co.)’s holders carries a mobility brand in its registered name: all 11 prefixes belong to wireline or wholesale carriers, among them Bell Canada, Videotron Ltd, Bell Aliant, a division of Bell Canada and Distributel. A call showing a La Baie (Chicoutimi Co.) number therefore nominally comes from a landline, cable or VoIP platform rather than a locally assigned cellphone.

How the allocation was built up

La Baie (Chicoutimi Co.)’s dated assignments run from 2005 to 2023. The busiest period was 2010–2014, when 3 prefixes went to 3 carriers. 3 prefixes (27%) 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.

La Baie (Chicoutimi Co.)’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 Videotron Ltd. in 2005. The most recent arrivals are ISP Telecom Inc. (2023), Distributel (2018) and TELUS Quebec (2015), a sign that new carriers are still asking for numbers in La Baie (Chicoutimi Co.).

La Baie (Chicoutimi Co.) has only 11 prefixes, or 110,000 numbers: a small rate centre, where the arrival of a single new carrier visibly changes the landscape.

No single carrier dominates La Baie (Chicoutimi Co.): the leader, Bell Canada, holds only 27.3% of the prefixes against 7 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 12.5% of the dated prefixes are less than ten years old, most having been handed out in 2010–2014, and 3 prefixes go back to the undated monopoly era. New La Baie (Chicoutimi Co.) numbers mostly come out of blocks that were assigned long ago.

3 undated in the register.

Dialling a La Baie (Chicoutimi Co.) number

La Baie (Chicoutimi Co.) is served by 3 overlaid area codes (418, 581 and 367). A 367 number is no more “out of town” than a 418 one; from abroad, dial +1 and the full ten digits.

The numbering neighbourhood

La Baie (Chicoutimi Co.) shares area codes 418, 581 and 367 with at least 20 other rate centres, including Quebec, Chicoutimi, Alma, Rimouski, Riviere-du-Loup, Thetford Mines, Sainte-Marie-de-Beauce and Levis. The largest of them, Quebec, holds 282 prefixes in 367, 418 and 581; the smallest on the list, Saint-Henri-de-Levis, has just 16.

What a La Baie (Chicoutimi Co.) number tells you

A number attached to La Baie (Chicoutimi Co.) tells you that its prefix was issued to a carrier for this rate centre in Quebec, 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 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 a Quebec area code is easy to borrow to look local.

Reading a register entry for La Baie (Chicoutimi Co.): code 418-544 is recorded for Bell Canada, so every 418-544-XXXX number (10,000 possible) descends from that assignment. “La Baie (Chicoutimi Co.), Quebec” there names a rate centre, not a municipality, and several area codes overlay it.

Every La Baie (Chicoutimi Co.) prefix

Each row is an in-service central-office code recorded for La Baie (Chicoutimi Co.), with its original holder and year of assignment.

Had a call from a La Baie (Chicoutimi Co.) 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 11 in-service prefixes, grouped by rate centre.

Elsewhere in Quebec