Phone prefixes in Port McNicoll, ON

In numbers

In-service prefixes

6

Telephone numbers covered

60,000

Carriers

6

Area codes

3

Provinces and territories

1

First assignment

June 30, 2009

Most recent assignment

July 27, 2023

Port McNicoll’s share of its area codes

Within area code 249, Port McNicoll accounts for only 3 of 585 prefixes (0.5%): the code is dominated by Sudbury and spread over 176 rate centres. Within area code 705, Port McNicoll accounts for only 2 of 770 prefixes (0.3%): the code is dominated by Barrie and spread over 203 rate centres. Within area code 683, Port McNicoll accounts for only 1 of 80 prefixes (1.3%): the code is dominated by Lindsay and spread over 57 rate centres.

Who holds these numbers

Bell Canada holds the largest share at 1 prefixes, 16.7% of the total, ahead of 5 other carriers. Code by code: in 249, Distributel leads with 1 of 3 prefixes ahead of 2 others; in 705, Bell Canada leads with 1 of 2 prefixes ahead of 1 others; ISP Telecom Inc. is the only holder in 683. No carrier holds prefixes in every one of Port McNicoll’s 3 area codes, while 6 appear in just one.

Wireless and wireline

None of Port McNicoll’s holders carries a mobility brand in its registered name: all 6 prefixes belong to wireline or wholesale carriers, among them Bell Canada, Distributel, Fibernetics Corporation and ISP Telecom Inc. A call showing a Port McNicoll number therefore nominally comes from a landline, cable or VoIP platform rather than a locally assigned cellphone.

How the allocation was built up

Port McNicoll’s dated assignments run from 2009 to 2023. The busiest period was 2015–2019, when 2 prefixes went to 2 carriers. 1 prefixes (17%) 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 McNicoll’s oldest prefixes, the ones the register leaves undated, belong to Bell Canada: this carrier made up the landscape before competition arrived. The first dated assignment went to Rogers Communications Canada Inc. (Cable) in 2009. The most recent arrivals are ISP Telecom Inc. (2023), Fibernetics Corporation (2020) and Distributel (2018), a sign that new carriers are still asking for numbers in Port McNicoll.

Port McNicoll has just 6 prefixes (60,000 numbers): a very small rate centre, typical of a village or rural area served by a single switching office.

No single carrier dominates Port McNicoll: the leader, Bell Canada, holds only 16.7% of the prefixes against 5 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: 40.0% 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 McNicoll number

Port McNicoll is served by 3 overlaid area codes (249, 705 and 683). A 683 number is no more “out of town” than a 249 one; from abroad, dial +1 and the full ten digits.

The numbering neighbourhood

Port McNicoll shares area codes 249, 705 and 683 with at least 20 other rate centres, including Barrie, Sudbury, Peterborough, Sault Ste. Marie, North Bay, Huntsville, Lindsay and Collingwood. The largest of them, Barrie, holds 95 prefixes in 249, 683 and 705; the smallest on the list, Kapuskasing, has just 12.

What a Port McNicoll number tells you

A number attached to Port McNicoll tells you that its prefix was issued to a carrier for this rate centre in Ontario, most often Bell Canada. It does not tell you where the handset is today: a subscriber may have ported the number to any of the 6 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 Ontario area code is easy to borrow to look local.

Reading a register entry for Port McNicoll: code 705-534 is recorded for Bell Canada, so every 705-534-XXXX number (10,000 possible) descends from that assignment. “Port McNicoll, Ontario” there names a rate centre, not a municipality, and several area codes overlay it.

Every Port McNicoll prefix

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

Had a call from a Port McNicoll 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 6 in-service prefixes, grouped by rate centre.

Elsewhere in Ontario