Phone prefixes in Meaford, ON

In numbers

In-service prefixes

4

Telephone numbers covered

40,000

Carriers

4

Area codes

3

Provinces and territories

1

First assignment

December 18, 2007

Most recent assignment

August 27, 2021

Meaford’s share of its area codes

Within area code 226, Meaford accounts for only 2 of 778 prefixes (0.3%): the code is dominated by London and spread over 166 rate centres. Within area code 519, Meaford accounts for only 1 of 779 prefixes (0.1%): the code is dominated by London and spread over 210 rate centres. Within area code 548, Meaford accounts for only 1 of 499 prefixes (0.2%): the code is dominated by London and spread over 170 rate centres.

Who holds these numbers

Bell Canada holds the largest share at 1 prefixes, 25.0% of the total, ahead of 3 other carriers. Code by code: in 226, Rogers Communications Canada Inc. (Cable) leads with 1 of 2 prefixes ahead of 1 others; Bell Canada is the only holder in 519; Fibernetics Corporation is the only holder in 548. No carrier holds prefixes in every one of Meaford’s 3 area codes, while 4 appear in just one.

Wireless and wireline

None of Meaford’s holders carries a mobility brand in its registered name: all 4 prefixes belong to wireline or wholesale carriers, among them Bell Canada, Fibernetics Corporation, Rogers Communications Canada Inc. (Cable) and TELUS Integrated Communications. A call showing a Meaford number therefore nominally comes from a landline, cable or VoIP platform rather than a locally assigned cellphone.

How the allocation was built up

Meaford’s dated assignments run from 2007 to 2021. The busiest period was 2005–2009, when 1 prefixes went to 1 carrier. 1 prefixes (25%) 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.

Meaford’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 Rogers Communications Canada Inc. (Cable) in 2007. The most recent arrivals are Fibernetics Corporation (2021), TELUS Integrated Communications (2016) and Rogers Communications Canada Inc. (Cable) (2007), a sign that new carriers are still asking for numbers in Meaford.

Meaford has just 4 prefixes (40,000 numbers): a very small rate centre, typical of a village or rural area served by a single switching office.

No single carrier dominates Meaford: the leader, Bell Canada, holds only 25.0% of the prefixes against 3 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: 33.3% of the dated prefixes go back to the last ten years, the most active period being 2005–2009. The rate centre is growing at a regular rather than explosive pace.

1 undated in the register.

Dialling a Meaford number

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

The numbering neighbourhood

Meaford shares area codes 226, 519 and 548 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 Meaford number tells you

A number attached to Meaford 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 4 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 Meaford: code 519-538 is recorded for Bell Canada, so every 519-538-XXXX number (10,000 possible) descends from that assignment. “Meaford, Ontario” there names a rate centre, not a municipality, and several area codes overlay it.

Every Meaford prefix

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

Allocated prefixes

All 4 in-service prefixes, grouped by rate centre.

Elsewhere in Ontario