Phone prefixes in Stratford

In numbers

In-service prefixes

40

Telephone numbers covered

400,000

Carriers

18

Area codes

7

Provinces and territories

2

First assignment

March 15, 2000

Most recent assignment

June 3, 2026

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 — 34 prefixes
• Quebec — 6 prefixes

Stratford’s share of its area codes

Within area code 226, Stratford accounts for only 14 of 778 prefixes (1.8%): the code is dominated by London and spread over 166 rate centres. Within area code 519, Stratford accounts for only 13 of 779 prefixes (1.7%): the code is dominated by London and spread over 210 rate centres. Within area code 548, Stratford accounts for only 4 of 499 prefixes (0.8%): the code is dominated by London and spread over 170 rate centres. Within area code 581, Stratford accounts for only 4 of 778 prefixes (0.5%): the code is dominated by Quebec and spread over 232 rate centres. Within area code 382, Stratford accounts for only 3 of 60 prefixes (5.0%): the code is dominated by Kitchener-Waterloo and spread over 38 rate centres. Within area code 367, Stratford accounts for only 1 of 233 prefixes (0.4%): the code is dominated by Quebec and spread over 111 rate centres. Within area code 418, Stratford accounts for only 1 of 777 prefixes (0.1%): the code is dominated by Quebec and spread over 258 rate centres.

Who holds these numbers

Bell Canada holds the largest share at 8 prefixes, 20.0% of the total, ahead of 17 other carriers. Code by code: in 226, Iristel Inc. leads with 4 of 14 prefixes ahead of 8 others; in 519, Bell Canada leads with 6 of 13 prefixes ahead of 6 others; in 548, Bell Canada leads with 1 of 4 prefixes ahead of 3 others; in 581, Videotron Ltd. leads with 2 of 4 prefixes ahead of 2 others; in 382, Iristel Inc. leads with 2 of 3 prefixes ahead of 1 others; TELUS Quebec is the only holder in 367; Bell Canada is the only holder in 418. No carrier holds prefixes in every one of Stratford’s 7 area codes, while 12 appear in just one.

Wireless and wireline

10 of Stratford’s 40 prefixes (25.0%) are held by carriers whose registered name marks a wireless business: TELUS Mobility, Bell Mobility, Rogers Communications Canada Inc. (Wireless) and Fido Solutions Inc. Wireline prefixes still outnumber them, carried by Bell Canada, Iristel Inc, Fibernetics Corporation and TELUS Integrated Communications. 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

Stratford’s dated assignments run from 2000 to 2026. The busiest period was 2010–2014, when 9 prefixes went to 7 carriers. 6 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 7 prefixes have been added, so the rate centre is still growing.

Stratford’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 2000. The most recent arrivals are TELUS Quebec (2026), IVIC Telecom s.e.n.c (2021) and Rogers Communications Canada Inc. (2019), a sign that new carriers are still asking for numbers in Stratford.

Stratford’s 40 prefixes provide 400,000 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 Stratford: the leader, Bell Canada, holds only 20.0% of the prefixes against 17 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: 20.6% 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.

The register also shows 2 prefixes assigned but not yet in service in Stratford (Cogeco Connexion Inc and Rogers Communications Canada Inc. (Wireless)): numbers that will start showing up on call displays in the coming months.

6 undated in the register.

Dialling a Stratford number

Stratford is served by 7 overlaid area codes (226, 519, 548, 581, 382, 367 and 418). A 418 number is no more “out of town” than a 226 one; from abroad, dial +1 and the full ten digits.

The numbering neighbourhood

Stratford shares area codes 226, 519, 548, 581, 382, 367 and 418 with at least 20 other rate centres, including Quebec, London, Kitchener-Waterloo, Windsor, Guelph, Brantford, Chicoutimi and Chatham. The largest of them, Quebec, holds 282 prefixes in 367, 418 and 581; the smallest on the list, Levis, has just 24.

What a Stratford number tells you

A number attached to Stratford 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 18 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 Stratford: code 519-271 is recorded for Bell Canada, so every 519-271-XXXX number (10,000 possible) descends from that assignment. “Stratford, Ontario” there names a rate centre, not a municipality, and several area codes overlay it.

Every Stratford prefix

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

Allocated prefixes

All 40 in-service prefixes, grouped by rate centre.

Elsewhere in Ontario