Phone prefixes in New Glasgow, NS

In numbers

In-service prefixes

27

Telephone numbers covered

270,000

Carriers

10

Area codes

2

Provinces and territories

1

First assignment

August 19, 1999

Most recent assignment

May 20, 2025

New Glasgow’s share of its area codes

Within area code 902, New Glasgow accounts for only 22 of 782 prefixes (2.8%): the code is dominated by Halifax and spread over 174 rate centres. Within area code 782, New Glasgow accounts for only 5 of 461 prefixes (1.1%): the code is dominated by Halifax and spread over 143 rate centres.

Who holds these numbers

Aliant Telecom (NS) holds the largest share at 10 prefixes, 37.0% of the total, ahead of 9 other carriers. Code by code: in 902, Aliant Telecom (NS) leads with 10 of 22 prefixes ahead of 8 others; in 782, Bell Mobility Aliant leads with 1 of 5 prefixes ahead of 4 others. 4 carriers hold prefixes in every one of New Glasgow’s 2 area codes, while 6 appear in just one.

Wireless and wireline

8 of New Glasgow’s 27 prefixes (29.6%) are held by carriers whose registered name marks a wireless business: Bell Mobility Aliant, Rogers Communications Canada Inc. (Wireless), TELUS Mobility and Fido Solutions Inc. Wireline prefixes still outnumber them, carried by Aliant Telecom (NS), Bragg Communications Inc, Iristel Inc and Comwave Networks. 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

New Glasgow’s dated assignments run from 1999 to 2025. The busiest period was 2010–2014, when 6 prefixes went to 5 carriers. 7 prefixes (26%) 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.

New Glasgow’s oldest prefixes, the ones the register leaves undated, belong to Aliant Telecom (NS) and Bell Mobility Aliant: these carriers made up the landscape before competition arrived. The first dated assignment went to Rogers Communications Canada Inc. (Wireless) in 1999. The most recent arrivals are Rogers Communications Canada Inc. (Cable) (2017), TELUS Integrated Communications (2015) and Comwave Networks (2014), a sign that new carriers are still asking for numbers in New Glasgow.

New Glasgow has only 27 prefixes, or 270,000 numbers: a small rate centre, where the arrival of a single new carrier visibly changes the landscape.

No single carrier dominates New Glasgow: the leader, Aliant Telecom (NS), holds only 37.0% of the prefixes against 9 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 10.0% of the dated prefixes are less than ten years old, most having been handed out in 2010–2014, and 7 prefixes go back to the undated monopoly era. New New Glasgow numbers mostly come out of blocks that were assigned long ago.

7 undated in the register.

Dialling a New Glasgow number

New Glasgow is served by 2 overlaid area codes (902 and 782). A 782 number is no more “out of town” than a 902 one; from abroad, dial +1 and the full ten digits.

The numbering neighbourhood

New Glasgow shares area codes 902 and 782 with at least 20 other rate centres, including Halifax, Charlottetown, Sydney, Truro, Windsor, Amherst, Kentville and Summerside. The largest of them, Halifax, holds 220 prefixes in 782 and 902; the smallest on the list, Port Hawkesbury, has just 12.

What a New Glasgow number tells you

A number attached to New Glasgow tells you that its prefix was issued to a carrier for this rate centre in Nova Scotia, most often Aliant Telecom (NS). It does not tell you where the handset is today: a subscriber may have ported the number to any of the 10 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 Nova Scotia area code is easy to borrow to look local.

Reading a register entry for New Glasgow: code 902-331 is recorded for Aliant Telecom (NS), so every 902-331-XXXX number (10,000 possible) descends from that assignment. “New Glasgow, Nova Scotia” there names a rate centre, not a municipality, and several area codes overlay it.

Every New Glasgow prefix

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

Had a call from a New Glasgow 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 27 in-service prefixes, grouped by rate centre.

Elsewhere in Nova Scotia