Phone prefixes in Mont-Laurier, QC

In numbers

In-service prefixes

16

Telephone numbers covered

160,000

Carriers

8

Area codes

2

Provinces and territories

1

First assignment

June 3, 2002

Most recent assignment

July 20, 2023

Mont-Laurier’s share of its area codes

Within area code 819, Mont-Laurier accounts for only 11 of 770 prefixes (1.4%): the code is dominated by Ottawa-Hull and spread over 211 rate centres. Within area code 873, Mont-Laurier accounts for only 5 of 667 prefixes (0.7%): the code is dominated by Sherbrooke and spread over 162 rate centres.

Who holds these numbers

Telebec Ltee. holds the largest share at 5 prefixes, 31.3% of the total, ahead of 7 other carriers. Code by code: in 819, Telebec Ltee. leads with 4 of 11 prefixes ahead of 5 others; in 873, Videotron Ltd. leads with 2 of 5 prefixes ahead of 3 others. 2 carriers hold prefixes in every one of Mont-Laurier’s 2 area codes, while 6 appear in just one.

Wireless and wireline

4 of Mont-Laurier’s 16 prefixes (25.0%) are held by carriers whose registered name marks a wireless business: Bell Mobility, Fido Solutions Inc, Rogers Communications Canada Inc. (Wireless) and TELUS Mobility. Wireline prefixes still outnumber them, carried by Telebec Ltee, Videotron Ltd, Bell Canada and TELUS Quebec. 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

Mont-Laurier’s dated assignments run from 2002 to 2023. The busiest period was 2005–2009, when 6 prefixes went to 4 carriers. 2 prefixes (13%) 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.

Mont-Laurier’s oldest prefixes, the ones the register leaves undated, belong to Telebec Ltee: this carrier made up the landscape before competition arrived. The first dated assignment went to Rogers Communications Canada Inc. (Wireless) in 2002. The most recent arrivals are Bell Canada (2023), TELUS Quebec (2013) and Fido Solutions Inc. (2013), a sign that new carriers are still asking for numbers in Mont-Laurier.

Mont-Laurier has only 16 prefixes, or 160,000 numbers: a small rate centre, where the arrival of a single new carrier visibly changes the landscape.

No single carrier dominates Mont-Laurier: the leader, Telebec Ltee., holds only 31.3% 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 7.1% of the dated prefixes are less than ten years old, most having been handed out in 2005–2009, and 2 prefixes go back to the undated monopoly era. New Mont-Laurier numbers mostly come out of blocks that were assigned long ago.

The register also shows 1 prefix assigned but not yet in service in Mont-Laurier (Cogeco Connexion Inc): numbers that will start showing up on call displays in the coming months.

2 undated in the register.

Dialling a Mont-Laurier number

Mont-Laurier is served by 2 overlaid area codes (819 and 873). A 873 number is no more “out of town” than a 819 one; from abroad, dial +1 and the full ten digits.

The numbering neighbourhood

Mont-Laurier shares area codes 819 and 873 with at least 20 other rate centres, including Ottawa-Hull, Sherbrooke, Trois-Rivieres, Drummondville, Gatineau, Victoriaville, Val-D'Or and Maniwaki. The largest of them, Ottawa-Hull, holds 119 prefixes in 819 and 873; the smallest on the list, Plessisville, has just 11.

What a Mont-Laurier number tells you

A number attached to Mont-Laurier tells you that its prefix was issued to a carrier for this rate centre in Quebec, most often Telebec Ltee.. 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 Mont-Laurier: code 819-401 is recorded for Telebec Ltee., so every 819-401-XXXX number (10,000 possible) descends from that assignment. “Mont-Laurier, Quebec” there names a rate centre, not a municipality, and several area codes overlay it.

Every Mont-Laurier prefix

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

Had a call from a Mont-Laurier 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 16 in-service prefixes, grouped by rate centre.

Elsewhere in Quebec