Phone prefixes in Pelham, ON

In numbers

In-service prefixes

8

Telephone numbers covered

80,000

Carriers

8

Area codes

4

Provinces and territories

1

First assignment

January 20, 2006

Most recent assignment

February 18, 2025

Pelham’s share of its area codes

Within area code 742, Pelham accounts for only 3 of 146 prefixes (2.1%): the code is dominated by Brampton and spread over 68 rate centres. Within area code 289, Pelham accounts for only 2 of 772 prefixes (0.3%): the code is dominated by Hamilton and spread over 87 rate centres. Within area code 365, Pelham accounts for only 2 of 702 prefixes (0.3%): the code is dominated by Markham and spread over 88 rate centres. Within area code 905, Pelham accounts for only 1 of 773 prefixes (0.1%): the code is dominated by Hamilton and spread over 94 rate centres.

Who holds these numbers

Bell Canada holds the largest share at 1 prefixes, 12.5% of the total, ahead of 7 other carriers. Code by code: in 742, ISP Telecom Inc. leads with 1 of 3 prefixes ahead of 2 others; in 289, Fibernetics Corporation leads with 1 of 2 prefixes ahead of 1 others; in 365, Distributel leads with 1 of 2 prefixes ahead of 1 others; Bell Canada is the only holder in 905. No carrier holds prefixes in every one of Pelham’s 4 area codes, while 8 appear in just one.

Wireless and wireline

None of Pelham’s holders carries a mobility brand in its registered name: all 8 prefixes belong to wireline or wholesale carriers, among them Bell Canada, Distributel, Fibernetics Corporation and ISP Telecom Inc. A call showing a Pelham number therefore nominally comes from a landline, cable or VoIP platform rather than a locally assigned cellphone.

How the allocation was built up

Pelham’s dated assignments run from 2006 to 2025. The busiest period was 2005–2009, when 2 prefixes went to 2 carriers. 1 prefixes (13%) carry no date in the register: these are the historic pre-1999 assignments, the wireline bedrock of the rate centre. Since 2020 another 4 prefixes have been added, so the rate centre is still growing.

Pelham’s oldest prefixes, the ones the register leaves undated, belong to Bell Canada: this carrier made up the landscape before competition arrived. The first dated assignment went to TELUS Integrated Communications in 2006. The most recent arrivals are Rogers Communications Canada Inc. (Cable) (2025), IXICA Communications Inc. (2025) and ISP Telecom Inc. (2021), a sign that new carriers are still asking for numbers in Pelham.

Pelham has just 8 prefixes (80,000 numbers): a very small rate centre, typical of a village or rural area served by a single switching office.

No single carrier dominates Pelham: the leader, Bell Canada, holds only 12.5% of the prefixes against 7 competitors, a sign of a highly fragmented market where cable companies, mobility brands and VoIP providers weigh as much as the incumbent.

Growth is recent: 57.1% of the dated prefixes were assigned in the last ten years, peaking in 2005–2009. Pelham is among the rate centres where demand for numbers is still rising quickly.

1 undated in the register.

Dialling a Pelham number

Pelham is served by 4 overlaid area codes (742, 289, 365 and 905). A 905 number is no more “out of town” than a 742 one; from abroad, dial +1 and the full ten digits.

The numbering neighbourhood

Pelham shares area codes 742, 289, 365 and 905 with at least 20 other rate centres, including Hamilton, Brampton, Oshawa, St. Catharines-Thorold, Oakville, Markham, Ajax-Pickering and Cooksville. The largest of them, Hamilton, holds 221 prefixes in 289, 365, 742 and 905; the smallest on the list, Dunnville, has just 28.

What a Pelham number tells you

A number attached to Pelham tells you that its prefix was issued to a carrier for this rate centre in Ontario, most often Bell Canada. It does not tell you where the handset is today: a subscriber may have ported the number to any of the 8 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 Ontario area code is easy to borrow to look local.

Reading a register entry for Pelham: code 905-892 is recorded for Bell Canada, so every 905-892-XXXX number (10,000 possible) descends from that assignment. “Pelham, Ontario” there names a rate centre, not a municipality, and several area codes overlay it.

Every Pelham prefix

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

Allocated prefixes

All 8 in-service prefixes, grouped by rate centre.

Elsewhere in Ontario