Phone prefixes in South Pickering, ON

In numbers

In-service prefixes

22

Telephone numbers covered

220,000

Carriers

12

Area codes

4

Provinces and territories

1

First assignment

November 4, 1999

Most recent assignment

October 9, 2024

South Pickering’s share of its area codes

Within area code 289, South Pickering accounts for only 9 of 772 prefixes (1.2%): the code is dominated by Hamilton and spread over 87 rate centres. Within area code 905, South Pickering accounts for only 9 of 773 prefixes (1.2%): the code is dominated by Hamilton and spread over 94 rate centres. Within area code 365, South Pickering accounts for only 2 of 702 prefixes (0.3%): the code is dominated by Markham and spread over 88 rate centres. Within area code 742, South Pickering accounts for only 2 of 146 prefixes (1.4%): the code is dominated by Brampton and spread over 68 rate centres.

Who holds these numbers

Bell Canada holds the largest share at 6 prefixes, 27.3% of the total, ahead of 11 other carriers. Code by code: in 289, Fibernetics Corporation leads with 2 of 9 prefixes ahead of 7 others; in 905, Bell Canada leads with 6 of 9 prefixes ahead of 1 others; in 365, Beanfield Technologies Inc. leads with 1 of 2 prefixes ahead of 1 others; in 742, Fibernetics Corporation leads with 1 of 2 prefixes ahead of 1 others. No carrier holds prefixes in every one of South Pickering’s 4 area codes, while 10 appear in just one.

Wireless and wireline

1 of South Pickering’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 Bell Canada, Fibernetics Corporation, Rogers Communications Canada Inc. (Cable) and Iristel 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

South Pickering’s dated assignments run from 1999 to 2024. The busiest period was 2000–2004, when 4 prefixes went to 2 carriers. 5 prefixes (23%) carry no date in the register: these are the historic pre-1999 assignments, the wireline bedrock of the rate centre. Since 2020 another 4 prefixes have been added, so the rate centre is still growing.

South Pickering’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 Bell Canada in 1999. The most recent arrivals are Beanfield Technologies Inc. (2021), TekSavvy Solutions Inc (2021) and InnSysVoice Corp (2015), a sign that new carriers are still asking for numbers in South Pickering.

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

No single carrier dominates South Pickering: the leader, Bell Canada, holds only 27.3% of the prefixes against 11 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: 23.5% of the dated prefixes go back to the last ten years, the most active period being 2000–2004. The rate centre is growing at a regular rather than explosive pace.

5 undated in the register.

Dialling a South Pickering number

South Pickering 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

South Pickering 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 221 prefixes in 289, 365, 742 and 905; the smallest on the list, Dunnville, has just 28.

What a South Pickering number tells you

A number attached to South Pickering 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 12 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 South Pickering: code 905-420 is recorded for Bell Canada, so every 905-420-XXXX number (10,000 possible) descends from that assignment. “South Pickering, Ontario” there names a rate centre, not a municipality, and several area codes overlay it.

Every South Pickering prefix

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

Allocated prefixes

All 22 in-service prefixes, grouped by rate centre.

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