Phone prefixes in North Kamloops, BC

In numbers

In-service prefixes

12

Telephone numbers covered

120,000

Carriers

7

Area codes

4

Provinces and territories

1

First assignment

January 31, 2007

Most recent assignment

March 30, 2022

North Kamloops’s share of its area codes

Within area code 250, North Kamloops accounts for only 4 of 781 prefixes (0.5%): the code is dominated by Victoria and spread over 268 rate centres. Within area code 778, North Kamloops accounts for only 4 of 779 prefixes (0.5%): the code is dominated by Vancouver and spread over 159 rate centres. Within area code 236, North Kamloops accounts for only 2 of 745 prefixes (0.3%): the code is dominated by Vancouver and spread over 269 rate centres. Within area code 672, North Kamloops accounts for only 2 of 321 prefixes (0.6%): the code is dominated by Vancouver and spread over 109 rate centres.

Who holds these numbers

TELUS holds the largest share at 5 prefixes, 41.7% of the total, ahead of 6 other carriers. Code by code: in 250, TELUS leads with 3 of 4 prefixes ahead of 1 others; in 778, TELUS leads with 1 of 4 prefixes ahead of 3 others; in 236, TELUS leads with 1 of 2 prefixes ahead of 1 others; in 672, ISP Telecom Inc. leads with 1 of 2 prefixes ahead of 1 others. No carrier holds prefixes in every one of North Kamloops’s 4 area codes, while 5 appear in just one.

Wireless and wireline

1 of North Kamloops’s 12 prefixes (8.3%) are held by carriers whose registered name marks a wireless business: TELUS Mobility. Wireline prefixes still outnumber them, carried by TELUS, Shaw Telecom Inc, Bell West 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

North Kamloops’s dated assignments run from 2007 to 2022. The busiest period was 2010–2014, when 4 prefixes went to 4 carriers. 3 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 2 prefixes have been added, so the rate centre is still growing.

North Kamloops’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 Bell West Inc. in 2007. The most recent arrivals are ISP Telecom Inc. (2022), TELUS Mobility (2019) and Comwave Networks (2014), a sign that new carriers are still asking for numbers in North Kamloops.

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

TELUS leads with 41.7% of the prefixes, but 6 competitors have set up in North Kamloops: a market where the incumbent keeps the edge without exclusivity.

Demand remains steady: 22.2% of the dated prefixes go back to the last ten years, the most active period being 2010–2014. The rate centre is growing at a regular rather than explosive pace.

3 undated in the register.

Dialling a North Kamloops number

North Kamloops is served by 4 overlaid area codes (250, 778, 236 and 672). A 672 number is no more “out of town” than a 250 one; from abroad, dial +1 and the full ten digits.

The numbering neighbourhood

North Kamloops shares area codes 250, 778, 236 and 672 with at least 20 other rate centres, including Vancouver, Victoria, Kelowna, New Westminster, Abbotsford, Nanaimo, South Kamloops and Prince George. The largest of them, Vancouver, holds 397 prefixes in 236, 672 and 778; the smallest on the list, Campbell River, has just 22.

What a North Kamloops number tells you

A number attached to North Kamloops tells you that its prefix was issued to a carrier for this rate centre in British Columbia, most often TELUS. It does not tell you where the handset is today: a subscriber may have ported the number to any of the 7 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 British Columbia area code is easy to borrow to look local.

Reading a register entry for North Kamloops: code 250-312 is recorded for TELUS, so every 250-312-XXXX number (10,000 possible) descends from that assignment. “North Kamloops, British Columbia” there names a rate centre, not a municipality, and several area codes overlay it.

Every North Kamloops prefix

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

Had a call from a North Kamloops 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 12 in-service prefixes, grouped by rate centre.

Elsewhere in British Columbia