Phone prefixes in Penticton, BC

In numbers

In-service prefixes

31

Telephone numbers covered

310,000

Carriers

12

Area codes

3

Provinces and territories

1

First assignment

August 25, 2000

Most recent assignment

May 1, 2026

Penticton’s share of its area codes

Within area code 250, Penticton accounts for only 15 of 781 prefixes (1.9%): the code is dominated by Victoria and spread over 268 rate centres. Within area code 236, Penticton accounts for only 9 of 745 prefixes (1.2%): the code is dominated by Vancouver and spread over 269 rate centres. Within area code 778, Penticton accounts for only 7 of 779 prefixes (0.9%): the code is dominated by Vancouver and spread over 159 rate centres.

Who holds these numbers

TELUS holds the largest share at 9 prefixes, 29.0% of the total, ahead of 11 other carriers. Code by code: in 250, TELUS leads with 8 of 15 prefixes ahead of 4 others; in 236, Iristel Inc. leads with 3 of 9 prefixes ahead of 4 others; in 778, TELUS leads with 1 of 7 prefixes ahead of 6 others. No carrier holds prefixes in every one of Penticton’s 3 area codes, while 7 appear in just one.

Wireless and wireline

9 of Penticton’s 31 prefixes (29.0%) are held by carriers whose registered name marks a wireless business: TELUS Mobility, Bell Mobility, Rogers Communications Canada Inc. (Wireless) and Fido Solutions Inc. Wireline prefixes still outnumber them, carried by TELUS, Iristel Inc, Videotron Ltd and Bell West Inc. 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

Penticton’s dated assignments run from 2000 to 2026. The busiest period was 2015–2019, when 7 prefixes went to 7 carriers. 9 prefixes (29%) carry no date in the register: these are the historic pre-1999 assignments, the wireline bedrock of the rate centre. Since 2020 another 5 prefixes have been added, so the rate centre is still growing.

Penticton’s oldest prefixes, the ones the register leaves undated, belong to TELUS, Rogers Communications Canada Inc. (Wireless) and TELUS Mobility: these carriers made up the landscape before competition arrived. The first dated assignment went to Rogers Communications Canada Inc. (Wireless) in 2000. The most recent arrivals are Fibernetics Corporation (2026), Videotron Ltd. (2018) and Iristel Inc. (2016), a sign that new carriers are still asking for numbers in Penticton.

Penticton’s 31 prefixes provide 310,000 numbers, which corresponds to a mid-sized city or a well-established suburb that every major carrier wants a slice of.

No single carrier dominates Penticton: the leader, TELUS, holds only 29.0% of the prefixes against 11 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: 22.7% 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.

9 undated in the register.

Dialling a Penticton number

Penticton is served by 3 overlaid area codes (250, 236 and 778). A 778 number is no more “out of town” than a 250 one; from abroad, dial +1 and the full ten digits.

The numbering neighbourhood

Penticton shares area codes 250, 236 and 778 with at least 20 other rate centres, including Vancouver, Victoria, Kelowna, New Westminster, Nanaimo, South Kamloops, Prince George and Abbotsford. The largest of them, Vancouver, holds 314 prefixes in 236 and 778; the smallest on the list, Salmon Arm, has just 21.

What a Penticton number tells you

A number attached to Penticton 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 12 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 Penticton: code 250-482 is recorded for TELUS, so every 250-482-XXXX number (10,000 possible) descends from that assignment. “Penticton, British Columbia” there names a rate centre, not a municipality, and several area codes overlay it.

Every Penticton prefix

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

Had a call from a Penticton 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 31 in-service prefixes, grouped by rate centre.

Elsewhere in British Columbia