Phone prefixes in Port Alberni, BC

In numbers

In-service prefixes

17

Telephone numbers covered

170,000

Carriers

9

Area codes

3

Provinces and territories

1

First assignment

February 21, 2001

Most recent assignment

May 1, 2026

Port Alberni’s share of its area codes

Within area code 250, Port Alberni accounts for only 10 of 781 prefixes (1.3%): the code is dominated by Victoria and spread over 268 rate centres. Within area code 778, Port Alberni accounts for only 5 of 779 prefixes (0.6%): the code is dominated by Vancouver and spread over 159 rate centres. Within area code 236, Port Alberni accounts for only 2 of 745 prefixes (0.3%): the code is dominated by Vancouver and spread over 269 rate centres.

Who holds these numbers

TELUS holds the largest share at 6 prefixes, 35.3% of the total, ahead of 8 other carriers. Code by code: in 250, TELUS leads with 5 of 10 prefixes ahead of 4 others; in 778, Shaw Telecom Inc. leads with 2 of 5 prefixes ahead of 3 others; in 236, Fibernetics Corporation leads with 1 of 2 prefixes ahead of 1 others. No carrier holds prefixes in every one of Port Alberni’s 3 area codes, while 7 appear in just one.

Wireless and wireline

6 of Port Alberni’s 17 prefixes (35.3%) are held by carriers whose registered name marks a wireless business: Rogers Communications Canada Inc. (Wireless), TELUS Mobility, Bell Mobility and Fido Solutions Inc. Wireline prefixes still outnumber them, carried by TELUS, Shaw Telecom Inc, Bell West Inc and Fibernetics Corporation. 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

Port Alberni’s dated assignments run from 2001 to 2026. The busiest period was 2005–2009, when 4 prefixes went to 4 carriers. 4 prefixes (24%) carry no date in the register: these are the historic pre-1999 assignments, the wireline bedrock of the rate centre. Since 2020 another 2 prefixes have been added, so the rate centre is still growing.

Port Alberni’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 Mobility in 2001. The most recent arrivals are Fibernetics Corporation (2026), Iristel Inc. (2024) and Bell West Inc. (2010), a sign that new carriers are still asking for numbers in Port Alberni.

Port Alberni has only 17 prefixes, or 170,000 numbers: a small rate centre, where the arrival of a single new carrier visibly changes the landscape.

No single carrier dominates Port Alberni: the leader, TELUS, holds only 35.3% 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.

Allocation is mature: only 15.4% of the dated prefixes are less than ten years old, most having been handed out in 2005–2009, and 4 prefixes go back to the undated monopoly era. New Port Alberni numbers mostly come out of blocks that were assigned long ago.

4 undated in the register.

Dialling a Port Alberni number

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

The numbering neighbourhood

Port Alberni shares area codes 250, 778 and 236 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, North Vancouver, has just 21.

What a Port Alberni number tells you

A number attached to Port Alberni 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 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 a British Columbia area code is easy to borrow to look local.

Reading a register entry for Port Alberni: code 250-720 is recorded for TELUS, so every 250-720-XXXX number (10,000 possible) descends from that assignment. “Port Alberni, British Columbia” there names a rate centre, not a municipality, and several area codes overlay it.

Every Port Alberni prefix

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

What people check and report about Port Alberni numbers

Searches typed into this site's lookup form since July 28, 2026, plus the verdicts and moderated reports visitors left. A search usually follows a missed call.

Had a call from a Port Alberni 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 17 in-service prefixes, grouped by rate centre.

Elsewhere in British Columbia