Phone prefixes in Stirling

In numbers

In-service prefixes

9

Telephone numbers covered

90,000

Carriers

8

Area codes

4

Provinces and territories

2

First assignment

May 30, 2007

Most recent assignment

August 11, 2022

Provinces and territories

This name is used for separate rate centres in 2 provinces. The prefixes below share a name in the CNAC register but belong to different communities.

• Ontario — 7 prefixes
• Alberta — 2 prefixes

Stirling’s share of its area codes

Within area code 343, Stirling accounts for only 5 of 641 prefixes (0.8%): the code is dominated by Ottawa-Hull and spread over 116 rate centres. Within area code 613, Stirling accounts for only 2 of 772 prefixes (0.3%): the code is dominated by Ottawa-Hull and spread over 132 rate centres. Within area code 403, Stirling accounts for only 1 of 781 prefixes (0.1%): the code is dominated by Calgary and spread over 142 rate centres. Within area code 825, Stirling accounts for only 1 of 769 prefixes (0.1%): the code is dominated by Calgary and spread over 301 rate centres.

Who holds these numbers

Distributel holds the largest share at 2 prefixes, 22.2% of the total, ahead of 7 other carriers. Code by code: in 343, Distributel leads with 1 of 5 prefixes ahead of 4 others; in 613, Bell Canada leads with 1 of 2 prefixes ahead of 1 others; TELUS is the only holder in 403; Distributel is the only holder in 825. No carrier holds prefixes in every one of Stirling’s 4 area codes, while 7 appear in just one.

Wireless and wireline

None of Stirling’s holders carries a mobility brand in its registered name: all 9 prefixes belong to wireline or wholesale carriers, among them Distributel, Bell Canada, Fibernetics Corporation and ISP Telecom Inc. A call showing a Stirling number therefore nominally comes from a landline, cable or VoIP platform rather than a locally assigned cellphone.

How the allocation was built up

Stirling’s dated assignments run from 2007 to 2022. The busiest period was 2015–2019, when 3 prefixes went to 3 carriers. 2 prefixes (22%) carry no date in the register: these are the historic pre-1999 assignments, the wireline bedrock of the rate centre. Since 2020 another 3 prefixes have been added, so the rate centre is still growing.

Stirling’s oldest prefixes, the ones the register leaves undated, belong to Bell Canada and TELUS: these carriers made up the landscape before competition arrived. The first dated assignment went to ISP Telecom Inc. in 2007. The most recent arrivals are TekSavvy Solutions Inc (2021), Fibernetics Corporation (2020) and Nexicom Telecommunications Inc (2018), a sign that new carriers are still asking for numbers in Stirling.

Stirling has just 9 prefixes (90,000 numbers): a very small rate centre, typical of a village or rural area served by a single switching office.

No single carrier dominates Stirling: the leader, Distributel, holds only 22.2% of the prefixes against 7 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: 42.9% of the dated prefixes go back to the last ten years, the most active period being 2015–2019. The rate centre is growing at a regular rather than explosive pace.

2 undated in the register.

Dialling a Stirling number

Stirling is served by 4 overlaid area codes (343, 613, 403 and 825). A 825 number is no more “out of town” than a 343 one; from abroad, dial +1 and the full ten digits.

The numbering neighbourhood

Stirling shares area codes 343, 613, 403 and 825 with at least 20 other rate centres, including Calgary, Ottawa-Hull, Edmonton, Kingston, Belleville, Red Deer, Cornwall and Lethbridge. The largest of them, Calgary, holds 516 prefixes in 403 and 825; the smallest on the list, Jockvale, has just 16.

What a Stirling number tells you

A number attached to Stirling tells you that its prefix was issued to a carrier for this rate centre in Ontario, most often Distributel. It does not tell you where the handset is today: a subscriber may have ported the number to any of the 8 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 Stirling: code 343-741 is recorded for Distributel, so every 343-741-XXXX number (10,000 possible) descends from that assignment. “Stirling, Ontario” there names a rate centre, not a municipality, and several area codes overlay it.

Every Stirling prefix

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

Allocated prefixes

All 9 in-service prefixes, grouped by rate centre.

Elsewhere in Ontario