Phone prefixes in Linwood, ON

In numbers

In-service prefixes

9

Telephone numbers covered

90,000

Carriers

9

Area codes

3

Provinces and territories

1

First assignment

September 12, 2008

Most recent assignment

February 8, 2023

Linwood’s share of its area codes

Within area code 226, Linwood accounts for only 6 of 778 prefixes (0.8%): the code is dominated by London and spread over 166 rate centres. Within area code 548, Linwood accounts for only 2 of 499 prefixes (0.4%): the code is dominated by London and spread over 170 rate centres. Within area code 519, Linwood accounts for only 1 of 779 prefixes (0.1%): the code is dominated by London and spread over 210 rate centres.

Who holds these numbers

Bell Canada holds the largest share at 1 prefixes, 11.1% of the total, ahead of 8 other carriers. Code by code: in 226, Distributel leads with 1 of 6 prefixes ahead of 5 others; in 548, ISP Telecom Inc. leads with 1 of 2 prefixes ahead of 1 others; Bell Canada is the only holder in 519. No carrier holds prefixes in every one of Linwood’s 3 area codes, while 9 appear in just one.

Wireless and wireline

None of Linwood’s holders carries a mobility brand in its registered name: all 9 prefixes belong to wireline or wholesale carriers, among them Bell Canada, Distributel, Fibernetics Corporation and ISP Telecom Inc. A call showing a Linwood number therefore nominally comes from a landline, cable or VoIP platform rather than a locally assigned cellphone.

How the allocation was built up

Linwood’s dated assignments run from 2008 to 2023. The busiest period was 2015–2019, when 5 prefixes went to 5 carriers. 1 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 2 prefixes have been added, so the rate centre is still growing.

Linwood’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 Fibernetics Corporation in 2008. The most recent arrivals are Rogers Communications Canada Inc. (Cable) (2023), TekSavvy Solutions Inc (2021) and ISP Telecom Inc. (2019), a sign that new carriers are still asking for numbers in Linwood.

Linwood has just 9 prefixes (90,000 numbers): a very small rate centre, typical of a village or rural area served by a single switching office.

No single carrier dominates Linwood: the leader, Bell Canada, holds only 11.1% of the prefixes against 8 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.

1 undated in the register.

Dialling a Linwood number

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

The numbering neighbourhood

Linwood shares area codes 226, 548 and 519 with at least 20 other rate centres, including London, Kitchener-Waterloo, Windsor, Guelph, Brantford, Sarnia, Chatham and Hespeler. The largest of them, London, holds 214 prefixes in 226, 519 and 548; the smallest on the list, Essex, has just 16.

What a Linwood number tells you

A number attached to Linwood 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 9 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 Linwood: code 519-698 is recorded for Bell Canada, so every 519-698-XXXX number (10,000 possible) descends from that assignment. “Linwood, Ontario” there names a rate centre, not a municipality, and several area codes overlay it.

Every Linwood prefix

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

Had a call from a Linwood 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 9 in-service prefixes, grouped by rate centre.

Elsewhere in Ontario