Phone prefixes in Port Simpson, BC

In numbers

In-service prefixes

3

Telephone numbers covered

30,000

Carriers

3

Area codes

3

Provinces and territories

1

First assignment

May 31, 2016

Most recent assignment

March 30, 2022

Port Simpson’s share of its area codes

Within area code 236, Port Simpson accounts for only 1 of 745 prefixes (0.1%): the code is dominated by Vancouver and spread over 269 rate centres. Within area code 250, Port Simpson accounts for only 1 of 781 prefixes (0.1%): the code is dominated by Victoria and spread over 268 rate centres. Within area code 672, Port Simpson 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

CityWest Cable (North) Corp - BC holds the largest share at 1 prefixes, 33.3% of the total, ahead of 2 other carriers. Code by code: Navigata Communications Limited is the only holder in 236; TELUS is the only holder in 250; CityWest Cable (North) Corp - BC is the only holder in 672. No carrier holds prefixes in every one of Port Simpson’s 3 area codes, while 3 appear in just one.

Wireless and wireline

None of Port Simpson’s holders carries a mobility brand in its registered name: all 3 prefixes belong to wireline or wholesale carriers, among them CityWest Cable (North) Corp - BC, Navigata Communications Limited and TELUS. A call showing a Port Simpson number therefore nominally comes from a landline, cable or VoIP platform rather than a locally assigned cellphone.

How the allocation was built up

Port Simpson’s dated assignments run from 2016 to 2022. The busiest period was 2015–2019, when 1 prefixes went to 1 carrier. 1 prefixes (33%) 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 Simpson’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 2016. The most recent arrivals are CityWest Cable (North) Corp - BC (2022) and Navigata Communications Limited (2016), a sign that new carriers are still asking for numbers in Port Simpson.

Port Simpson has just 3 prefixes (30,000 numbers): a very small rate centre, typical of a village or rural area served by a single switching office.

No single carrier dominates Port Simpson: the leader, CityWest Cable (North) Corp - BC, holds only 33.3% of the prefixes against 2 competitors, a sign of a highly fragmented market where cable companies, mobility brands and VoIP providers weigh as much as the incumbent.

Growth is recent: 50.0% of the dated prefixes were assigned in the last ten years, peaking in 2015–2019. Port Simpson is among the rate centres where demand for numbers is still rising quickly.

1 undated in the register.

Dialling a Port Simpson number

Port Simpson is served by 3 overlaid area codes (236, 250 and 672). A 672 number is no more “out of town” than a 236 one; from abroad, dial +1 and the full ten digits.

The numbering neighbourhood

Port Simpson shares area codes 236, 250 and 672 with at least 20 other rate centres, including Vancouver, Victoria, Kelowna, Abbotsford, Nanaimo, Prince George, South Kamloops and Cranbrook. The largest of them, Vancouver, holds 225 prefixes in 236 and 672; the smallest on the list, New Westminster, has just 14.

What a Port Simpson number tells you

A number attached to Port Simpson tells you that its prefix was issued to a carrier for this rate centre in British Columbia, most often CityWest Cable (North) Corp - BC. It does not tell you where the handset is today: a subscriber may have ported the number to any of the 3 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 Simpson: code 672-647 is recorded for CityWest Cable (North) Corp - BC, so every 672-647-XXXX number (10,000 possible) descends from that assignment. “Port Simpson, British Columbia” there names a rate centre, not a municipality, and several area codes overlay it.

Every Port Simpson prefix

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

Had a call from a Port Simpson 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 3 in-service prefixes, grouped by rate centre.

Elsewhere in British Columbia