Phone prefixes in Lumsden

In numbers

In-service prefixes

12

Telephone numbers covered

120,000

Carriers

9

Area codes

3

Provinces and territories

2

First assignment

August 22, 2011

Most recent assignment

January 21, 2022

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.

• Saskatchewan — 10 prefixes
• Newfoundland and Labrador — 2 prefixes

Lumsden’s share of its area codes

Within area code 639, Lumsden accounts for only 9 of 776 prefixes (1.2%): the code is dominated by Regina and spread over 202 rate centres. Within area code 709, Lumsden accounts for only 2 of 630 prefixes (0.3%): the code is dominated by St. John's and spread over 209 rate centres. Within area code 306, Lumsden accounts for only 1 of 777 prefixes (0.1%): the code is dominated by Saskatoon and spread over 228 rate centres.

Who holds these numbers

Iristel Inc. holds the largest share at 3 prefixes, 25.0% of the total, ahead of 8 other carriers. Code by code: in 639, Iristel Inc. leads with 3 of 9 prefixes ahead of 5 others; in 709, Aliant Telecom (NF) leads with 1 of 2 prefixes ahead of 1 others; SaskTel is the only holder in 306. No carrier holds prefixes in every one of Lumsden’s 3 area codes, while 9 appear in just one.

Wireless and wireline

1 of Lumsden’s 12 prefixes (8.3%) are held by carriers whose registered name marks a wireless business: Bell Mobility. Wireline prefixes still outnumber them, carried by Iristel Inc, Distributel, Access Communications Co-operative Limited and Aliant Telecom (NF). 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

Lumsden’s dated assignments run from 2011 to 2022. The busiest period was 2015–2019, when 6 prefixes went to 4 carriers. 2 prefixes (17%) 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.

Lumsden’s oldest prefixes, the ones the register leaves undated, belong to Aliant Telecom (NF) and SaskTel: these carriers made up the landscape before competition arrived. The first dated assignment went to Bragg Communications Inc. in 2011. The most recent arrivals are ISP Telecom Inc. (2021), Fibernetics Corporation (2021) and Access Communications Co-operative Limited (2017), a sign that new carriers are still asking for numbers in Lumsden.

Lumsden has only 12 prefixes, or 120,000 numbers: a small rate centre, where the arrival of a single new carrier visibly changes the landscape.

No single carrier dominates Lumsden: the leader, Iristel Inc., holds only 25.0% 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: 30.0% 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 Lumsden number

Lumsden is served by 3 overlaid area codes (639, 709 and 306). A 306 number is no more “out of town” than a 639 one; from abroad, dial +1 and the full ten digits.

The numbering neighbourhood

Lumsden shares area codes 639, 709 and 306 with at least 20 other rate centres, including Regina, Saskatoon, St. John's, Moose Jaw, Prince Albert, North Battleford, Corner Brook and Yorkton. The largest of them, Regina, holds 157 prefixes in 306 and 639; the smallest on the list, Lanigan, has just 14.

What a Lumsden number tells you

A number attached to Lumsden tells you that its prefix was issued to a carrier for this rate centre in Saskatchewan, 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 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 a Saskatchewan area code is easy to borrow to look local.

Reading a register entry for Lumsden: code 639-385 is recorded for Iristel Inc., so every 639-385-XXXX number (10,000 possible) descends from that assignment. “Lumsden, Saskatchewan” there names a rate centre, not a municipality, and several area codes overlay it.

Every Lumsden prefix

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

Allocated prefixes

All 12 in-service prefixes, grouped by rate centre.

Elsewhere in Saskatchewan