Phone prefixes in Southport, MB

In numbers

In-service prefixes

5

Telephone numbers covered

50,000

Carriers

5

Area codes

2

Provinces and territories

1

First assignment

August 17, 2007

Most recent assignment

December 10, 2021

Southport’s share of its area codes

Within area code 204, Southport accounts for only 3 of 781 prefixes (0.4%): the code is dominated by Winnipeg and spread over 245 rate centres. Within area code 431, Southport accounts for only 2 of 572 prefixes (0.3%): the code is dominated by Winnipeg and spread over 146 rate centres.

Who holds these numbers

Distributel holds the largest share at 1 prefixes, 20.0% of the total, ahead of 4 other carriers. Code by code: in 204, LES.NET (1996) Inc. leads with 1 of 3 prefixes ahead of 2 others; in 431, Distributel leads with 1 of 2 prefixes ahead of 1 others. No carrier holds prefixes in every one of Southport’s 2 area codes, while 5 appear in just one.

Wireless and wireline

None of Southport’s holders carries a mobility brand in its registered name: all 5 prefixes belong to wireline or wholesale carriers, among them Distributel, Fibernetics Corporation, LES.NET (1996) Inc and MTS Inc. A call showing a Southport number therefore nominally comes from a landline, cable or VoIP platform rather than a locally assigned cellphone.

How the allocation was built up

Southport’s dated assignments run from 2007 to 2021. The busiest period was 2005–2009, when 1 prefixes went to 1 carrier. 1 prefixes (20%) 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.

Southport’s oldest prefixes, the ones the register leaves undated, belong to MTS Inc: this carrier made up the landscape before competition arrived. The first dated assignment went to Shaw Telecom Inc. in 2007. The most recent arrivals are Fibernetics Corporation (2021), Distributel (2018) and LES.NET (1996) Inc. (2010), a sign that new carriers are still asking for numbers in Southport.

Southport has just 5 prefixes (50,000 numbers): a very small rate centre, typical of a village or rural area served by a single switching office.

No single carrier dominates Southport: the leader, Distributel, holds only 20.0% of the prefixes against 4 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: 25.0% of the dated prefixes go back to the last ten years, the most active period being 2005–2009. The rate centre is growing at a regular rather than explosive pace.

1 undated in the register.

Dialling a Southport number

Southport is served by 2 overlaid area codes (204 and 431). A 431 number is no more “out of town” than a 204 one; from abroad, dial +1 and the full ten digits.

The numbering neighbourhood

Southport shares area codes 204 and 431 with at least 20 other rate centres, including Winnipeg, Brandon, Portage La Prairie, Steinbach, Oakbank, Stonewall, Dauphin and Selkirk. The largest of them, Winnipeg, holds 387 prefixes in 204 and 431; the smallest on the list, The Pas, has just 10.

What a Southport number tells you

A number attached to Southport tells you that its prefix was issued to a carrier for this rate centre in Manitoba, most often Distributel. It does not tell you where the handset is today: a subscriber may have ported the number to any of the 5 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 Manitoba area code is easy to borrow to look local.

Reading a register entry for Southport: code 431-522 is recorded for Distributel, so every 431-522-XXXX number (10,000 possible) descends from that assignment. “Southport, Manitoba” there names a rate centre, not a municipality, and several area codes overlay it.

Every Southport prefix

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

Had a call from a Southport 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 5 in-service prefixes, grouped by rate centre.

Elsewhere in Manitoba