Phone prefixes in Summerside

In numbers

In-service prefixes

25

Telephone numbers covered

250,000

Carriers

10

Area codes

3

Provinces and territories

2

First assignment

October 24, 2001

Most recent assignment

November 9, 2023

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.

• Prince Edward Island — 24 prefixes
• Newfoundland and Labrador — 1 prefixes

Summerside’s share of its area codes

Within area code 902, Summerside accounts for only 14 of 782 prefixes (1.8%): the code is dominated by Halifax and spread over 174 rate centres. Within area code 782, Summerside accounts for only 10 of 461 prefixes (2.2%): the code is dominated by Halifax and spread over 143 rate centres. Within area code 709, Summerside accounts for only 1 of 631 prefixes (0.2%): the code is dominated by St. John's and spread over 209 rate centres.

Who holds these numbers

Bell Mobility Aliant holds the largest share at 8 prefixes, 32.0% of the total, ahead of 9 other carriers. Code by code: in 902, Aliant Telecom (PEI) leads with 5 of 14 prefixes ahead of 6 others; in 782, Bell Mobility Aliant leads with 6 of 10 prefixes ahead of 3 others; Aliant Telecom (NF) is the only holder in 709. No carrier holds prefixes in every one of Summerside’s 3 area codes, while 8 appear in just one.

Wireless and wireline

11 of Summerside’s 25 prefixes (44.0%) are held by carriers whose registered name marks a wireless business: Bell Mobility Aliant, Fido Solutions Inc, Rogers Communications Canada Inc. (Wireless) and TELUS Mobility. Wireline prefixes still outnumber them, carried by Aliant Telecom (PEI), Bragg Communications Inc, Iristel Inc and Aliant Telecom (NF). 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

Summerside’s dated assignments run from 2001 to 2023. The busiest period was 2020–2024, when 9 prefixes went to 3 carriers. 6 prefixes (24%) carry no date in the register: these are the historic pre-1999 assignments, the wireline bedrock of the rate centre. Since 2020 another 9 prefixes have been added, so the rate centre is still growing.

Summerside’s oldest prefixes, the ones the register leaves undated, belong to Aliant Telecom (PEI), Aliant Telecom (NF) and Bell Mobility Aliant: these carriers made up the landscape before competition arrived. The first dated assignment went to Bragg Communications Inc. in 2001. The most recent arrivals are Distributel (2022), TELUS Integrated Communications (2019) and Iristel Inc. (2016), a sign that new carriers are still asking for numbers in Summerside.

Summerside has only 25 prefixes, or 250,000 numbers: a small rate centre, where the arrival of a single new carrier visibly changes the landscape.

No single carrier dominates Summerside: the leader, Bell Mobility Aliant, holds only 32.0% of the prefixes against 9 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: 47.4% of the dated prefixes go back to the last ten years, the most active period being 2020–2024. The rate centre is growing at a regular rather than explosive pace.

6 undated in the register.

Dialling a Summerside number

Summerside is served by 3 overlaid area codes (902, 782 and 709). A 709 number is no more “out of town” than a 902 one; from abroad, dial +1 and the full ten digits.

The numbering neighbourhood

Summerside shares area codes 902, 782 and 709 with at least 20 other rate centres, including Halifax, St. John's, Charlottetown, Sydney, Truro, Windsor, Amherst and New Glasgow. The largest of them, Halifax, holds 220 prefixes in 782 and 902; the smallest on the list, Carbonear, has just 13.

What a Summerside number tells you

A number attached to Summerside tells you that its prefix was issued to a carrier for this rate centre in Prince Edward Island, most often Bell Mobility Aliant. It does not tell you where the handset is today: a subscriber may have ported the number to any of the 10 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 Prince Edward Island area code is easy to borrow to look local.

Reading a register entry for Summerside: code 902-439 is recorded for Bell Mobility Aliant, so every 902-439-XXXX number (10,000 possible) descends from that assignment. “Summerside, Prince Edward Island” there names a rate centre, not a municipality, and several area codes overlay it.

Every Summerside prefix

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

Had a call from a Summerside 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 25 in-service prefixes, grouped by rate centre.

Elsewhere in Prince Edward Island