Phone prefixes in North Sydney, NS

In numbers

In-service prefixes

6

Telephone numbers covered

60,000

Carriers

4

Area codes

2

Provinces and territories

1

First assignment

April 15, 2005

Most recent assignment

September 22, 2022

North Sydney’s share of its area codes

Within area code 902, North Sydney accounts for only 4 of 782 prefixes (0.5%): the code is dominated by Halifax and spread over 174 rate centres. Within area code 782, North Sydney accounts for only 2 of 460 prefixes (0.4%): the code is dominated by Halifax and spread over 142 rate centres.

Who holds these numbers

Aliant Telecom (NS) holds the largest share at 3 prefixes, 50.0% of the total, ahead of 3 other carriers. Code by code: in 902, Aliant Telecom (NS) leads with 3 of 4 prefixes ahead of 1 others; in 782, Distributel leads with 1 of 2 prefixes ahead of 1 others. No carrier holds prefixes in every one of North Sydney’s 2 area codes, while 4 appear in just one.

Wireless and wireline

None of North Sydney’s holders carries a mobility brand in its registered name: all 6 prefixes belong to wireline or wholesale carriers, among them Aliant Telecom (NS), Bragg Communications Inc, Distributel and TELUS Integrated Communications. A call showing a North Sydney number therefore nominally comes from a landline, cable or VoIP platform rather than a locally assigned cellphone.

How the allocation was built up

North Sydney’s dated assignments run from 2005 to 2022. The busiest period was 2005–2009, when 1 prefixes went to 1 carrier. 3 prefixes (50%) 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.

North Sydney’s oldest prefixes, the ones the register leaves undated, belong to Aliant Telecom (NS): this carrier made up the landscape before competition arrived. The first dated assignment went to Bragg Communications Inc. in 2005. The most recent arrivals are Distributel (2022), TELUS Integrated Communications (2019) and Bragg Communications Inc. (2005), a sign that new carriers are still asking for numbers in North Sydney.

North Sydney has just 6 prefixes (60,000 numbers): a very small rate centre, typical of a village or rural area served by a single switching office.

Aliant Telecom (NS) leads with 50.0% of the prefixes, but 3 competitors have set up in North Sydney: a market where the incumbent keeps the edge without exclusivity.

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.

3 undated in the register.

Dialling a North Sydney number

North Sydney 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

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

What a North Sydney number tells you

A number attached to North Sydney 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 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 a Nova Scotia area code is easy to borrow to look local.

Reading a register entry for North Sydney: code 902-544 is recorded for Aliant Telecom (NS), so every 902-544-XXXX number (10,000 possible) descends from that assignment. “North Sydney, Nova Scotia” there names a rate centre, not a municipality, and several area codes overlay it.

Every North Sydney prefix

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

Had a call from a North Sydney 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 6 in-service prefixes, grouped by rate centre.

Elsewhere in Nova Scotia