Phone prefixes in Port Moody, BC

In numbers

In-service prefixes

22

Telephone numbers covered

220,000

Carriers

9

Area codes

4

Provinces and territories

1

First assignment

July 14, 2003

Most recent assignment

September 11, 2020

Port Moody’s share of its area codes

Within area code 604, Port Moody accounts for only 11 of 781 prefixes (1.4%): the code is dominated by Vancouver and spread over 43 rate centres. Within area code 778, Port Moody accounts for only 7 of 779 prefixes (0.9%): the code is dominated by Vancouver and spread over 159 rate centres. Within area code 236, Port Moody accounts for only 3 of 745 prefixes (0.4%): the code is dominated by Vancouver and spread over 269 rate centres. Within area code 672, Port Moody accounts for only 1 of 321 prefixes (0.3%): the code is dominated by Vancouver and spread over 109 rate centres.

Who holds these numbers

TELUS holds the largest share at 10 prefixes, 45.5% of the total, ahead of 8 other carriers. Code by code: in 604, TELUS leads with 9 of 11 prefixes ahead of 1 others; in 778, Distributel leads with 2 of 7 prefixes ahead of 5 others; in 236, Shaw Telecom Inc. leads with 1 of 3 prefixes ahead of 2 others; Fibernetics Corporation is the only holder in 672. No carrier holds prefixes in every one of Port Moody’s 4 area codes, while 7 appear in just one.

Wireless and wireline

1 of Port Moody’s 22 prefixes (4.5%) are held by carriers whose registered name marks a wireless business: Fido Solutions Inc. Wireline prefixes still outnumber them, carried by TELUS, Shaw Telecom Inc, Distributel and Bell West 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

Port Moody’s dated assignments run from 2003 to 2020. The busiest period was 2005–2009, when 5 prefixes went to 4 carriers. 8 prefixes (36%) 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 Moody’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 Fido Solutions Inc. in 2003. The most recent arrivals are ISP Telecom Inc. (2020), Fibernetics Corporation (2020) and IXICA Communications Inc. (2018), a sign that new carriers are still asking for numbers in Port Moody.

Port Moody has only 22 prefixes, or 220,000 numbers: a small rate centre, where the arrival of a single new carrier visibly changes the landscape.

TELUS leads with 45.5% of the prefixes, but 8 competitors have set up in Port Moody: a market where the incumbent keeps the edge without exclusivity.

Allocation is mature: only 14.3% of the dated prefixes are less than ten years old, most having been handed out in 2005–2009, and 8 prefixes go back to the undated monopoly era. New Port Moody numbers mostly come out of blocks that were assigned long ago.

8 undated in the register.

Dialling a Port Moody number

Port Moody is served by 4 overlaid area codes (604, 778, 236 and 672). A 672 number is no more “out of town” than a 604 one; from abroad, dial +1 and the full ten digits.

The numbering neighbourhood

Port Moody shares area codes 604, 778, 236 and 672 with at least 20 other rate centres, including Vancouver, New Westminster, Abbotsford, Victoria, Richmond, North Vancouver, Aldergrove and Kelowna. The largest of them, Vancouver, holds 740 prefixes in 236, 604, 672 and 778; the smallest on the list, Langley, has just 22.

What a Port Moody number tells you

A number attached to Port Moody 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 Moody: code 604-461 is recorded for TELUS, so every 604-461-XXXX number (10,000 possible) descends from that assignment. “Port Moody, British Columbia” there names a rate centre, not a municipality, and several area codes overlay it.

Every Port Moody prefix

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

Had a call from a Port Moody 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 22 in-service prefixes, grouped by rate centre.

Elsewhere in British Columbia