Phone prefixes in Pincher Creek, AB

In numbers

In-service prefixes

14

Telephone numbers covered

140,000

Carriers

9

Area codes

3

Provinces and territories

1

First assignment

January 24, 2001

Most recent assignment

October 24, 2024

Pincher Creek’s share of its area codes

Within area code 403, Pincher Creek accounts for only 8 of 781 prefixes (1.0%): the code is dominated by Calgary and spread over 142 rate centres. Within area code 825, Pincher Creek accounts for only 4 of 770 prefixes (0.5%): the code is dominated by Calgary and spread over 301 rate centres. Within area code 587, Pincher Creek accounts for only 2 of 779 prefixes (0.3%): the code is dominated by Calgary and spread over 137 rate centres.

Who holds these numbers

Iristel Inc. holds the largest share at 3 prefixes, 21.4% of the total, ahead of 8 other carriers. Code by code: in 403, TELUS leads with 2 of 8 prefixes ahead of 5 others; in 825, Iristel Inc. leads with 2 of 4 prefixes ahead of 2 others; in 587, Iristel Inc. leads with 1 of 2 prefixes ahead of 1 others. No carrier holds prefixes in every one of Pincher Creek’s 3 area codes, while 7 appear in just one.

Wireless and wireline

5 of Pincher Creek’s 14 prefixes (35.7%) are held by carriers whose registered name marks a wireless business: TELUS Mobility, Bell Mobility, Fido Solutions Inc and Rogers Communications Canada Inc. (Wireless). Wireline prefixes still outnumber them, carried by Iristel Inc, Distributel, TELUS and ISP Telecom 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

Pincher Creek’s dated assignments run from 2001 to 2024. The busiest period was 2005–2009, when 4 prefixes went to 4 carriers. 1 prefixes (7%) carry no date in the register: these are the historic pre-1999 assignments, the wireline bedrock of the rate centre. Since 2020 another 3 prefixes have been added, so the rate centre is still growing.

Pincher Creek’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 TELUS in 2001. The most recent arrivals are ISP Telecom Inc. (2022), Iristel Inc. (2016) and Distributel (2010), a sign that new carriers are still asking for numbers in Pincher Creek.

Pincher Creek has only 14 prefixes, or 140,000 numbers: a small rate centre, where the arrival of a single new carrier visibly changes the landscape.

No single carrier dominates Pincher Creek: the leader, Iristel Inc., holds only 21.4% of the prefixes against 8 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: 23.1% 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.

1 undated in the register.

Dialling a Pincher Creek number

Pincher Creek is served by 3 overlaid area codes (403, 825 and 587). A 587 number is no more “out of town” than a 403 one; from abroad, dial +1 and the full ten digits.

The numbering neighbourhood

Pincher Creek shares area codes 403, 825 and 587 with at least 20 other rate centres, including Calgary, Edmonton, Red Deer, Lethbridge, Medicine Hat, Fort McMurray, High River and Banff. The largest of them, Calgary, holds 712 prefixes in 403, 587 and 825; the smallest on the list, Stettler, has just 15.

What a Pincher Creek number tells you

A number attached to Pincher Creek tells you that its prefix was issued to a carrier for this rate centre in Alberta, 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 9 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 Alberta area code is easy to borrow to look local.

Reading a register entry for Pincher Creek: code 825-876 is recorded for Iristel Inc., so every 825-876-XXXX number (10,000 possible) descends from that assignment. “Pincher Creek, Alberta” there names a rate centre, not a municipality, and several area codes overlay it.

Every Pincher Creek prefix

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

Had a call from a Pincher Creek 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 14 in-service prefixes, grouped by rate centre.

Elsewhere in Alberta