Phone prefixes in Port Mcneill, BC

Port Mcneill, BC is a rate centre in the Canadian numbering plan. CNAC records 2 in-service prefixes there, held by 2 carriers and spread across 2 area codes (250, 778). With 2 prefixes, Port Mcneill is a small rate centre within British Columbia: 196th of 309, holding 0.1% of the province’s prefixes, and 1879th of 2,920 rate centres across Canada.

Background reading: Canadian area codes, overlays, and what a 416 number actually tells you · Caller ID spoofing, STIR/SHAKEN, and how to actually block calls in Canada

Where Port Mcneill is

Province or territory
British Columbia
Census division
Mount Waddington
Local time
— Pacific Time (PT), UTC−8; UTC−7 in daylight saving time
Nearest rate centres
Sointula (11 km), Alert Bay (17 km), Beaver Cove (22 km), Port Hardy (22 km), Port Alice (31 km)

Divisions and places: Statistics Canada and NRCan. Straight-line distances.

In numbers

In-service prefixes
2
Telephone numbers covered
20,000
Carriers
2
Area codes
2
Provinces and territories
1
First assignment
October 16, 2015
Most recent assignment
October 16, 2015

Port Mcneill’s share of its area codes

Within area code 250, Port Mcneill accounts for only 1 of 781 prefixes (0.1%): the code is dominated by Victoria and spread over 268 rate centres. Within area code 778, Port Mcneill accounts for only 1 of 779 prefixes (0.1%): the code is dominated by Vancouver and spread over 159 rate centres.

Area codesPrefixes herePrefixes in codeShareRangeLargest rate centre
25017810.1 %250-956 – 250-956Victoria
77817790.1 %778-324 – 778-324Vancouver

Who holds these numbers

Navigata Communications Limited holds the largest share at 1 prefixes, 50.0% of the total, ahead of 1 other carrier. Code by code: TELUS is the only holder in 250; Navigata Communications Limited is the only holder in 778. No carrier holds prefixes in every one of Port Mcneill’s 2 area codes, while 2 appear in just one.

Carrier250778Total
Navigata Communications Limited—11
TELUS1—1

Wireless and wireline

None of Port Mcneill’s holders carries a mobility brand in its registered name: all 2 prefixes belong to wireline or wholesale carriers, among them Navigata Communications Limited and TELUS. A call showing a Port Mcneill number therefore nominally comes from a landline, cable or VoIP platform rather than a locally assigned cellphone.

How the allocation was built up

Port Mcneill’s dated assignments run from 2015 to 2015. The busiest period was 2015–2019, when 1 prefixes went to 1 carrier. 1 prefixes (50%) carry no date in the register: these are the historic pre-1999 assignments, the wireline bedrock of the rate centre. No prefix has been added since 2020: demand for numbers in Port Mcneill is flat.

Port Mcneill’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 Navigata Communications Limited in 2015. The most recent arrivals are Navigata Communications Limited (2015), a sign that new carriers are still asking for numbers in Port Mcneill.

Port Mcneill has just 2 prefixes (20,000 numbers): a very small rate centre, typical of a village or rural area served by a single switching office.

Navigata Communications Limited leads with 50.0% of the prefixes, but 1 competitors have set up in Port Mcneill: a market where the incumbent keeps the edge without exclusivity.

Allocation is mature: only 0.0% of the dated prefixes are less than ten years old, most having been handed out in 2015–2019, and 1 prefixes go back to the undated monopoly era. New Port Mcneill numbers mostly come out of blocks that were assigned long ago.

Dialling a Port Mcneill number

Port Mcneill is served by 2 overlaid area codes (250 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

Port Mcneill shares area codes 250 and 778 with at least 20 other rate centres, including Vancouver, Victoria, Kelowna, New Westminster, Nanaimo, South Kamloops, Prince George and Vernon. The largest of them, Vancouver, holds 172 prefixes in 778; the smallest on the list, Parksville, has just 16.

Rate centreProvinceShared codesPrefixesCarriers
VancouverBC77817218
VictoriaBC250, 77813615
KelownaBC250, 7785111
New WestminsterBC7784614
NanaimoBC250, 7783510
South KamloopsBC250, 7783510
Prince GeorgeBC250, 7782910
VernonBC250, 778279
PentictonBC250, 778229
AldergroveBC778208
DuncanBC250, 778208
AbbotsfordBC7781910
NewtonBC7781910
CourtenayBC250, 778187
Fort St. JohnBC250, 778188
Campbell RiverBC250, 778178
CranbrookBC250, 7781710
RichmondBC7781711
Dawson CreekBC250, 778169
ParksvilleBC250, 778168

What a Port Mcneill number tells you

A number attached to Port Mcneill tells you that its prefix was issued to a carrier for this rate centre in British Columbia, most often Navigata Communications Limited. It does not tell you where the handset is today: a subscriber may have ported the number to any of the 2 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 Mcneill: code 778-324 is recorded for Navigata Communications Limited, so every 778-324-XXXX number (10,000 possible) descends from that assignment. “Port Mcneill, British Columbia” there names a rate centre, not a municipality, and several area codes overlay it.

Every Port Mcneill prefix

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

PrefixCarrierAssigned
250-956TELUSundated
778-324Navigata Communications Limited2015

Had a call from a Port Mcneill 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.

  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.

  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.

Frequently asked

What is the area code for Port Mcneill?

Port Mcneill does not have one area code but 2: 250 and 778. The best-stocked is 250. All are dialled with ten digits and none is “more local” than another.

Is a call from Port Mcneill a cellphone or a landline?

More likely a landline or a VoIP service: mobility brands hold only 0.0% of Port Mcneill’s prefixes.

Which carrier is behind a Port Mcneill number?

In the register, Navigata Communications Limited holds the most prefixes in Port Mcneill (1 of 2), ahead of 1 other carriers. Code 778-324, for instance, belongs to Navigata Communications Limited.

Is this Port Mcneill number a scam?

The register cannot say: it records who a prefix was issued to, not who is calling. Search the full number above to see the reports filed against it.

What is the newest prefix in Port Mcneill?

The only dated prefix, 778-324, was assigned to Navigata Communications Limited on October 16, 2015.

What time zone is Port Mcneill in?

Port Mcneill is on Pacific Time (PT, UTC−8), with daylight saving time (UTC−7) from the second Sunday in March to the first Sunday in November.

Allocated prefixes

All 2 in-service prefixes, grouped by rate centre.

Port Mcneill, BC

250-956 · 778-324

Elsewhere in British Columbia

Rate centreProvincePrefixesCarriers
North VancouverBC5812
ChilliwackBC4114
WhalleyBC3612
West VancouverBC319
WhistlerBC2812
Port CoquitlamBC2610
SquamishBC2412

Allocation source: Canadian Numbering Administrator (CNAC), the registry that records which carrier a central-office code was originally issued to. An allocation says who was issued the prefix, not who serves the number today: numbers can be ported between carriers, and caller ID can be spoofed outright.