Phone prefixes in Nisku, AB

Nisku, AB is a rate centre in the Canadian numbering plan. CNAC records 7 in-service prefixes there, held by 5 carriers and spread across 3 area codes (780, 587, 825). With 7 prefixes, Nisku is a small rate centre within Alberta: 67th of 337, holding 0.2% of the province’s prefixes, and 727th of 2,921 rate centres across Canada.

Background reading: Canadian area codes, overlays, and what a 416 number actually tells you · Caller ID spoofing, STIR/SHAKEN, and how to actually block calls in Canada

In numbers

In-service prefixes
7
Telephone numbers covered
70,000
Carriers
5
Area codes
3
Provinces and territories
1
First assignment
October 25, 2005
Most recent assignment
January 2, 2018

Nisku’s share of its area codes

Within area code 780, Nisku accounts for only 3 of 780 prefixes (0.4%): the code is dominated by Edmonton and spread over 195 rate centres. Within area code 587, Nisku accounts for only 2 of 779 prefixes (0.3%): the code is dominated by Calgary and spread over 137 rate centres. Within area code 825, Nisku accounts for only 2 of 769 prefixes (0.3%): the code is dominated by Calgary and spread over 301 rate centres.

Area codesPrefixes herePrefixes in codeShareRangeLargest rate centre
78037800.4 %780-770780-979Edmonton
58727790.3 %587-541587-953Calgary
82527690.3 %825-216825-319Calgary

Who holds these numbers

TELUS holds the largest share at 3 prefixes, 42.9% of the total, ahead of 4 other carriers. Code by code: in 780, TELUS leads with 2 of 3 prefixes ahead of 1 others; in 587, Bell West Inc. leads with 1 of 2 prefixes ahead of 1 others; in 825, TELUS leads with 1 of 2 prefixes ahead of 1 others. No carrier holds prefixes in every one of Nisku’s 3 area codes, while 4 appear in just one.

Carrier780587825Total
TELUS213
Bell West Inc.11
Distributel11
Shaw Telecom Inc.11
Zayo Canada Inc.11

Wireless and wireline

None of Nisku’s holders carries a mobility brand in its registered name: all 7 prefixes belong to wireline or wholesale carriers, among them TELUS, Bell West Inc, Distributel and Shaw Telecom Inc. A call showing a Nisku number therefore nominally comes from a landline, cable or VoIP platform rather than a locally assigned cellphone.

How the allocation was built up

Nisku’s dated assignments run from 2005 to 2018. The busiest period was 2015–2019, when 3 prefixes went to 3 carriers. 1 prefixes (14%) carry no date in the register: these are the historic pre-1999 assignments, the wireline bedrock of the rate centre. No prefix has been added since 2020: demand for numbers in Nisku is flat.

Nisku’s oldest prefixes, the ones the register leaves undated, belong to TELUS: this carrier made up the landscape before competition arrived. The first dated assignment went to TELUS in 2005. The most recent arrivals are Distributel (2016), Bell West Inc. (2015) and Zayo Canada Inc. (2012), a sign that new carriers are still asking for numbers in Nisku.

Nisku has just 7 prefixes (70,000 numbers): a very small rate centre, typical of a village or rural area served by a single switching office.

TELUS leads with 42.9% of the prefixes, but 4 competitors have set up in Nisku: a market where the incumbent keeps the edge without exclusivity.

Allocation is mature: only 0.0% of the dated prefixes are less than ten years old, most having been handed out in 2015–2019, and 1 prefixes go back to the undated monopoly era. New Nisku numbers mostly come out of blocks that were assigned long ago.

PeriodPrefixesCarriers
2005–200922
2010–201411
2015–201933

1 undated in the register.

Dialling a Nisku number

Nisku is served by 3 overlaid area codes (780, 587 and 825). A 825 number is no more “out of town” than a 780 one; from abroad, dial +1 and the full ten digits.

The numbering neighbourhood

Nisku shares area codes 780, 587 and 825 with at least 20 other rate centres, including Edmonton, Calgary, Fort McMurray, Grande Prairie, Red Deer, Lethbridge, Sherwood Park and Peace River. The largest of them, Edmonton, holds 489 prefixes in 587, 780 and 825; the smallest on the list, High Level, has just 16.

Rate centreProvinceShared codesPrefixesCarriers
EdmontonAB587, 780, 82548918
CalgaryAB587, 82534118
Fort McMurrayAB587, 780, 8256013
Grande PrairieAB587, 780, 8254913
Red DeerAB587, 8253113
LethbridgeAB587, 8252512
Sherwood ParkAB587, 780, 825258
Peace RiverAB587, 780, 8252410
St. AlbertAB587, 780, 825238
Fox CreekAB587, 780, 825219
LeducAB587, 780, 8252110
LloydminsterAB587, 780, 825219
Medicine HatAB587, 8252110
CamroseAB587, 780, 8252011
Drayton ValleyAB587, 780, 825187
EdsonAB587, 780, 825189
BanffAB587, 8251710
BonnyvilleAB587, 780, 825177
High RiverAB587, 8251710
High LevelAB587, 780, 825166

What a Nisku number tells you

A number attached to Nisku tells you that its prefix was issued to a carrier for this rate centre in Alberta, most often TELUS. It does not tell you where the handset is today: a subscriber may have ported the number to any of the 5 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 Alberta area code is easy to borrow to look local.

Reading a register entry for Nisku: code 780-955 is recorded for TELUS, so every 780-955-XXXX number (10,000 possible) descends from that assignment. “Nisku, Alberta” there names a rate centre, not a municipality, and several area codes overlay it.

Every Nisku prefix

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

PrefixCarrierAssigned
587-541Bell West Inc.2015
587-953Zayo Canada Inc.2012
780-770Shaw Telecom Inc.2008
780-955TELUSundated
780-979TELUS2005
825-216TELUS2018
825-319Distributel2016

Frequently asked

What is the area code for Nisku?

Nisku does not have one area code but 3: 780, 587 and 825. The best-stocked is 780. All are dialled with ten digits and none is “more local” than another.

Is a call from Nisku a cellphone or a landline?

More likely a landline or a VoIP service: mobility brands hold only 0.0% of Nisku’s prefixes.

Which carrier is behind a Nisku number?

In the register, TELUS holds the most prefixes in Nisku (3 of 7), ahead of 4 other carriers. Code 780-955, for instance, belongs to TELUS.

Is this Nisku number a scam?

The register cannot say: it records who a prefix was issued to, not who is calling. Search the full number above to see the reports filed against it.

What is the newest prefix in Nisku?

The latest code brought into service is 825-216, assigned to TELUS on January 2, 2018. At the other end, the oldest dated prefix, 780-979, goes to TELUS (October 25, 2005). A number in a recent prefix almost always belongs to a subscriber who signed up after that date.

Allocated prefixes

All 7 in-service prefixes, grouped by rate centre.

Nisku, AB

587-541 · 587-953 · 780-770 · 780-955 · 780-979 · 825-216 · 825-319

Elsewhere in Alberta

Rate centreProvincePrefixesCarriers
CanmoreAB2613
AirdrieAB2310
StrathmoreAB2212
BrooksAB199

Allocation source: Canadian Numbering Administrator (CNAC), the registry that records which carrier a central-office code was originally issued to. An allocation says who was issued the prefix, not who serves the number today: numbers can be ported between carriers, and caller ID can be spoofed outright.