Phone prefixes in Oakbank, MB

In numbers

In-service prefixes

23

Telephone numbers covered

230,000

Carriers

13

Area codes

3

Provinces and territories

1

First assignment

February 28, 2001

Most recent assignment

June 8, 2023

Oakbank’s share of its area codes

Within area code 204, Oakbank accounts for only 13 of 781 prefixes (1.7%): the code is dominated by Winnipeg and spread over 245 rate centres. Within area code 431, Oakbank accounts for only 9 of 572 prefixes (1.6%): the code is dominated by Winnipeg and spread over 146 rate centres. Within area code 584, Oakbank accounts for only 1 of 15 prefixes (6.7%): the code is dominated by Winnipeg and spread over 13 rate centres.

Who holds these numbers

Iristel Inc. holds the largest share at 9 prefixes, 39.1% of the total, ahead of 12 other carriers. Code by code: in 204, Iristel Inc. leads with 4 of 13 prefixes ahead of 9 others; in 431, Iristel Inc. leads with 4 of 9 prefixes ahead of 4 others; Iristel Inc. is the only holder in 584. 1 carrier holds prefixes in every one of Oakbank’s 3 area codes, while 11 appear in just one.

Wireless and wireline

3 of Oakbank’s 23 prefixes (13.0%) are held by carriers whose registered name marks a wireless business: Bell Mobility, Rogers Communications Canada Inc. (Wireless) and TELUS Mobility. Wireline prefixes still outnumber them, carried by Iristel Inc, Fibernetics Corporation, 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

Oakbank’s dated assignments run from 2001 to 2023. The busiest period was 2015–2019, when 7 prefixes went to 4 carriers. 1 prefixes (4%) carry no date in the register: these are the historic pre-1999 assignments, the wireline bedrock of the rate centre. Since 2020 another 6 prefixes have been added, so the rate centre is still growing.

Oakbank’s oldest prefixes, the ones the register leaves undated, belong to MTS Inc: this carrier made up the landscape before competition arrived. The first dated assignment went to Rogers Communications Canada Inc. (Wireless) in 2001. The most recent arrivals are ISP Telecom Inc. (2021), Bell West Inc. (2019) and Distributel (2018), a sign that new carriers are still asking for numbers in Oakbank.

Oakbank has only 23 prefixes, or 230,000 numbers: a small rate centre, where the arrival of a single new carrier visibly changes the landscape.

No single carrier dominates Oakbank: the leader, Iristel Inc., holds only 39.1% of the prefixes against 12 competitors, a sign of a highly fragmented market where cable companies, mobility brands and VoIP providers weigh as much as the incumbent.

Demand remains steady: 27.3% of the dated prefixes go back to the last ten years, the most active period being 2015–2019. The rate centre is growing at a regular rather than explosive pace.

1 undated in the register.

Dialling a Oakbank number

Oakbank is served by 3 overlaid area codes (204, 431 and 584). A 584 number is no more “out of town” than a 204 one; from abroad, dial +1 and the full ten digits.

The numbering neighbourhood

Oakbank shares area codes 204, 431 and 584 with at least 20 other rate centres, including Winnipeg, Brandon, Portage La Prairie, Steinbach, Stonewall, Dauphin, Selkirk and Thompson. The largest of them, Winnipeg, holds 390 prefixes in 204, 431 and 584; the smallest on the list, Austin, has just 9.

What a Oakbank number tells you

A number attached to Oakbank tells you that its prefix was issued to a carrier for this rate centre in Manitoba, most often Iristel Inc.. It does not tell you where the handset is today: a subscriber may have ported the number to any of the 13 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 Manitoba area code is easy to borrow to look local.

Reading a register entry for Oakbank: code 204-817 is recorded for Iristel Inc., so every 204-817-XXXX number (10,000 possible) descends from that assignment. “Oakbank, Manitoba” there names a rate centre, not a municipality, and several area codes overlay it.

Every Oakbank prefix

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

Had a call from a Oakbank 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 23 in-service prefixes, grouped by rate centre.

Elsewhere in Manitoba