Phone prefixes in Val David, QC

In numbers

In-service prefixes

5

Telephone numbers covered

50,000

Carriers

3

Area codes

3

Provinces and territories

1

First assignment

January 11, 2008

Most recent assignment

March 24, 2023

Val David’s share of its area codes

Within area code 819, Val David accounts for only 2 of 770 prefixes (0.3%): the code is dominated by Ottawa-Hull and spread over 211 rate centres. Within area code 873, Val David accounts for only 2 of 667 prefixes (0.3%): the code is dominated by Sherbrooke and spread over 162 rate centres. Within area code 468, Val David accounts for only 1 of 67 prefixes (1.5%): the code is dominated by Ottawa-Hull and spread over 57 rate centres.

Who holds these numbers

ISP Telecom Inc. holds the largest share at 2 prefixes, 40.0% of the total, ahead of 2 other carriers. Code by code: in 819, TELUS Quebec leads with 1 of 2 prefixes ahead of 1 others; in 873, ISP Telecom Inc. leads with 1 of 2 prefixes ahead of 1 others; ISP Telecom Inc. is the only holder in 468. No carrier holds prefixes in every one of Val David’s 3 area codes, while 1 appears in just one.

Wireless and wireline

None of Val David’s holders carries a mobility brand in its registered name: all 5 prefixes belong to wireline or wholesale carriers, among them ISP Telecom Inc, TELUS Quebec and Bell Canada. A call showing a Val David number therefore nominally comes from a landline, cable or VoIP platform rather than a locally assigned cellphone.

How the allocation was built up

Val David’s dated assignments run from 2008 to 2023. 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.

Val David’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 TELUS Quebec in 2008. The most recent arrivals are ISP Telecom Inc. (2012) and TELUS Quebec (2008), a sign that new carriers are still asking for numbers in Val David.

Val David 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.

ISP Telecom Inc. leads with 40.0% of the prefixes, but 2 competitors have set up in Val David: a market where the incumbent keeps the edge without exclusivity.

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 Val David number

Val David is served by 3 overlaid area codes (819, 873 and 468). A 468 number is no more “out of town” than a 819 one; from abroad, dial +1 and the full ten digits.

The numbering neighbourhood

Val David shares area codes 819, 873 and 468 with at least 20 other rate centres, including Ottawa-Hull, Sherbrooke, Trois-Rivieres, Drummondville, Victoriaville, Gatineau, Val-D'Or and Maniwaki. The largest of them, Ottawa-Hull, holds 122 prefixes in 468, 819 and 873; the smallest on the list, Ville-Marie, has just 12.

What a Val David number tells you

A number attached to Val David tells you that its prefix was issued to a carrier for this rate centre in Quebec, most often ISP Telecom Inc.. It does not tell you where the handset is today: a subscriber may have ported the number to any of the 3 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 Quebec area code is easy to borrow to look local.

Reading a register entry for Val David: code 873-276 is recorded for ISP Telecom Inc., so every 873-276-XXXX number (10,000 possible) descends from that assignment. “Val David, Quebec” there names a rate centre, not a municipality, and several area codes overlay it.

Every Val David prefix

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

Allocated prefixes

All 5 in-service prefixes, grouped by rate centre.

Elsewhere in Quebec