Phone prefixes in Richmond Hill, ON

In numbers

In-service prefixes

46

Telephone numbers covered

460,000

Carriers

19

Area codes

4

Provinces and territories

1

First assignment

August 25, 2000

Most recent assignment

January 31, 2024

Richmond Hill’s share of its area codes

Within area code 289, Richmond Hill accounts for only 21 of 772 prefixes (2.7%): the code is dominated by Hamilton and spread over 87 rate centres. Within area code 905, Richmond Hill accounts for only 12 of 773 prefixes (1.6%): the code is dominated by Hamilton and spread over 94 rate centres. Within area code 365, Richmond Hill accounts for only 10 of 706 prefixes (1.4%): the code is dominated by Markham and spread over 88 rate centres. Within area code 742, Richmond Hill accounts for only 3 of 148 prefixes (2.0%): the code is dominated by Brampton and spread over 68 rate centres.

Who holds these numbers

Bell Canada holds the largest share at 8 prefixes, 17.4% of the total, ahead of 18 other carriers. Code by code: in 289, Distributel leads with 4 of 21 prefixes ahead of 12 others; in 905, Bell Canada leads with 7 of 12 prefixes ahead of 2 others; in 365, Iristel Inc. leads with 4 of 10 prefixes ahead of 6 others; in 742, Fibernetics Corporation leads with 1 of 3 prefixes ahead of 2 others. No carrier holds prefixes in every one of Richmond Hill’s 4 area codes, while 13 appear in just one.

Wireless and wireline

2 of Richmond Hill’s 46 prefixes (4.3%) are held by carriers whose registered name marks a wireless business: Fido Solutions Inc. Wireline prefixes still outnumber them, carried by Bell Canada, Iristel Inc, Rogers Communications Canada Inc. (Cable) and Distributel. 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

Richmond Hill’s dated assignments run from 2000 to 2024. The busiest period was 2010–2014, when 11 prefixes went to 9 carriers. 7 prefixes (15%) carry no date in the register: these are the historic pre-1999 assignments, the wireline bedrock of the rate centre. Since 2020 another 9 prefixes have been added, so the rate centre is still growing.

Richmond Hill’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 2000. The most recent arrivals are FGLTEL Inc. (2022), Beanfield Technologies Inc. (2021) and TekSavvy Solutions Inc (2021), a sign that new carriers are still asking for numbers in Richmond Hill.

Richmond Hill’s 46 prefixes provide 460,000 numbers, which corresponds to a mid-sized city or a well-established suburb that every major carrier wants a slice of.

No single carrier dominates Richmond Hill: the leader, Bell Canada, holds only 17.4% of the prefixes against 18 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: 23.1% of the dated prefixes go back to the last ten years, the most active period being 2010–2014. The rate centre is growing at a regular rather than explosive pace.

7 undated in the register.

Dialling a Richmond Hill number

Richmond Hill is served by 4 overlaid area codes (289, 905, 365 and 742). A 742 number is no more “out of town” than a 289 one; from abroad, dial +1 and the full ten digits.

The numbering neighbourhood

Richmond Hill shares area codes 289, 905, 365 and 742 with at least 20 other rate centres, including Hamilton, Brampton, Oshawa, St. Catharines-Thorold, Oakville, Markham, Ajax-Pickering and Cooksville. The largest of them, Hamilton, holds 222 prefixes in 289, 365, 742 and 905; the smallest on the list, Maple, has just 28.

What a Richmond Hill number tells you

A number attached to Richmond Hill 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 19 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 Richmond Hill: code 905-508 is recorded for Bell Canada, so every 905-508-XXXX number (10,000 possible) descends from that assignment. “Richmond Hill, Ontario” there names a rate centre, not a municipality, and several area codes overlay it.

Every Richmond Hill prefix

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

Had a call from a Richmond Hill 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 46 in-service prefixes, grouped by rate centre.

Elsewhere in Ontario