Phone prefixes in South Porcupine, ON

In numbers

In-service prefixes

6

Telephone numbers covered

60,000

Carriers

6

Area codes

2

Provinces and territories

1

First assignment

February 27, 2008

Most recent assignment

May 30, 2025

South Porcupine’s share of its area codes

Within area code 705, South Porcupine accounts for only 4 of 770 prefixes (0.5%): the code is dominated by Barrie and spread over 203 rate centres. Within area code 249, South Porcupine accounts for only 2 of 585 prefixes (0.3%): the code is dominated by Sudbury and spread over 176 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 705, Bragg Communications Inc. leads with 1 of 4 prefixes ahead of 3 others; in 249, Bell Canada leads with 1 of 2 prefixes ahead of 1 others. No carrier holds prefixes in every one of South Porcupine’s 2 area codes, while 6 appear in just one.

Wireless and wireline

None of South Porcupine’s holders carries a mobility brand in its registered name: all 6 prefixes belong to wireline or wholesale carriers, among them Bell Canada, Bragg Communications Inc, ExaTEL Inc and Northern Telephone Ltd. A call showing a South Porcupine number therefore nominally comes from a landline, cable or VoIP platform rather than a locally assigned cellphone.

How the allocation was built up

South Porcupine’s dated assignments run from 2008 to 2025. The busiest period was 2010–2014, 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.

South Porcupine’s oldest prefixes, the ones the register leaves undated, belong to Northern Telephone Ltd: this carrier made up the landscape before competition arrived. The first dated assignment went to ExaTEL Inc. in 2008. The most recent arrivals are Bell Canada (2025), TELUS Integrated Communications (2023) and NorthernTel Limited Partnership (2013), a sign that new carriers are still asking for numbers in South Porcupine.

South Porcupine 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 South Porcupine: 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 2010–2014. The rate centre is growing at a regular rather than explosive pace.

1 undated in the register.

Dialling a South Porcupine number

South Porcupine is served by 2 overlaid area codes (705 and 249). A 249 number is no more “out of town” than a 705 one; from abroad, dial +1 and the full ten digits.

The numbering neighbourhood

South Porcupine shares area codes 705 and 249 with at least 20 other rate centres, including Barrie, Sudbury, Peterborough, Sault Ste. Marie, North Bay, Huntsville, Collingwood and Lindsay. The largest of them, Barrie, holds 92 prefixes in 249 and 705; the smallest on the list, Kirkland Lake, has just 12.

What a South Porcupine number tells you

A number attached to South Porcupine 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 South Porcupine: code 249-561 is recorded for Bell Canada, so every 249-561-XXXX number (10,000 possible) descends from that assignment. “South Porcupine, Ontario” there names a rate centre, not a municipality, and several area codes overlay it.

Every South Porcupine prefix

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

Had a call from a South Porcupine 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