Phone prefixes in Port Dufferin, NS

In numbers

In-service prefixes

4

Telephone numbers covered

40,000

Carriers

4

Area codes

2

Provinces and territories

1

First assignment

February 14, 2018

Most recent assignment

July 23, 2021

Port Dufferin’s share of its area codes

Within area code 782, Port Dufferin accounts for only 3 of 460 prefixes (0.7%): the code is dominated by Halifax and spread over 142 rate centres. Within area code 902, Port Dufferin accounts for only 1 of 782 prefixes (0.1%): the code is dominated by Halifax and spread over 174 rate centres.

Who holds these numbers

Aliant Telecom (NS) holds the largest share at 1 prefixes, 25.0% of the total, ahead of 3 other carriers. Code by code: in 782, Bragg Communications Inc. leads with 1 of 3 prefixes ahead of 2 others; Aliant Telecom (NS) is the only holder in 902. No carrier holds prefixes in every one of Port Dufferin’s 2 area codes, while 4 appear in just one.

Wireless and wireline

None of Port Dufferin’s holders carries a mobility brand in its registered name: all 4 prefixes belong to wireline or wholesale carriers, among them Aliant Telecom (NS), Bragg Communications Inc, Distributel and Fibernetics Corporation. A call showing a Port Dufferin number therefore nominally comes from a landline, cable or VoIP platform rather than a locally assigned cellphone.

How the allocation was built up

Port Dufferin’s dated assignments run from 2018 to 2021. The busiest period was 2015–2019, when 2 prefixes went to 2 carriers. 1 prefixes (25%) carry no date in the register: these are the historic pre-1999 assignments, the wireline bedrock of the rate centre. Since 2020 another 1 prefixes have been added, so the rate centre is still growing.

Port Dufferin’s oldest prefixes, the ones the register leaves undated, belong to Aliant Telecom (NS): this carrier made up the landscape before competition arrived. The first dated assignment went to Bragg Communications Inc. in 2018. The most recent arrivals are Fibernetics Corporation (2021), Distributel (2018) and Bragg Communications Inc. (2018), a sign that new carriers are still asking for numbers in Port Dufferin.

Port Dufferin has just 4 prefixes (40,000 numbers): a very small rate centre, typical of a village or rural area served by a single switching office.

No single carrier dominates Port Dufferin: the leader, Aliant Telecom (NS), holds only 25.0% of the prefixes against 3 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: 33.3% 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 Port Dufferin number

Port Dufferin is served by 2 overlaid area codes (782 and 902). A 902 number is no more “out of town” than a 782 one; from abroad, dial +1 and the full ten digits.

The numbering neighbourhood

Port Dufferin shares area codes 782 and 902 with at least 20 other rate centres, including Halifax, Charlottetown, Sydney, Truro, Windsor, Amherst, New Glasgow and Kentville. The largest of them, Halifax, holds 220 prefixes in 782 and 902; the smallest on the list, Musquodoboit Harbour, has just 12.

What a Port Dufferin number tells you

A number attached to Port Dufferin tells you that its prefix was issued to a carrier for this rate centre in Nova Scotia, most often Aliant Telecom (NS). It does not tell you where the handset is today: a subscriber may have ported the number to any of the 4 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 Nova Scotia area code is easy to borrow to look local.

Reading a register entry for Port Dufferin: code 902-654 is recorded for Aliant Telecom (NS), so every 902-654-XXXX number (10,000 possible) descends from that assignment. “Port Dufferin, Nova Scotia” there names a rate centre, not a municipality, and several area codes overlay it.

Every Port Dufferin prefix

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

Had a call from a Port Dufferin 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 4 in-service prefixes, grouped by rate centre.

Elsewhere in Nova Scotia