Phone prefixes in Wellington

In numbers

In-service prefixes

20

Telephone numbers covered

200,000

Carriers

13

Area codes

9

Provinces and territories

3

First assignment

September 19, 2001

Most recent assignment

May 18, 2023

Provinces and territories

This name is used for separate rate centres in 3 provinces. The prefixes below share a name in the CNAC register but belong to different communities.

• British Columbia — 10 prefixes
• Ontario — 8 prefixes
• Prince Edward Island — 2 prefixes

Wellington’s share of its area codes

Within area code 250, Wellington accounts for only 6 of 781 prefixes (0.8%): the code is dominated by Victoria and spread over 268 rate centres. Within area code 343, Wellington accounts for only 6 of 641 prefixes (0.9%): the code is dominated by Ottawa-Hull and spread over 116 rate centres. Within area code 778, Wellington accounts for only 2 of 779 prefixes (0.3%): the code is dominated by Vancouver and spread over 159 rate centres. Within area code 236, Wellington accounts for only 1 of 730 prefixes (0.1%): the code is dominated by Vancouver and spread over 269 rate centres. Within area code 613, Wellington accounts for only 1 of 772 prefixes (0.1%): the code is dominated by Ottawa-Hull and spread over 132 rate centres. Within area code 672, Wellington accounts for only 1 of 320 prefixes (0.3%): the code is dominated by Vancouver and spread over 108 rate centres. Within area code 753, Wellington accounts for only 1 of 103 prefixes (1.0%): the code is dominated by Ottawa-Hull and spread over 62 rate centres. Within area code 782, Wellington accounts for only 1 of 456 prefixes (0.2%): the code is dominated by Halifax and spread over 142 rate centres. Within area code 902, Wellington accounts for only 1 of 782 prefixes (0.1%): the code is dominated by Halifax and spread over 175 rate centres.

Who holds these numbers

TELUS holds the largest share at 6 prefixes, 30.0% of the total, ahead of 12 other carriers. Code by code: in 250, TELUS leads with 5 of 6 prefixes ahead of 1 others; in 343, Distributel leads with 1 of 6 prefixes ahead of 5 others; in 778, TELUS leads with 1 of 2 prefixes ahead of 1 others; Distributel is the only holder in 236; Bell Canada is the only holder in 613; ISP Telecom Inc. is the only holder in 672; ISP Telecom Inc. is the only holder in 753; Bragg Communications Inc. is the only holder in 782; Aliant Telecom (PEI) is the only holder in 902. No carrier holds prefixes in every one of Wellington’s 9 area codes, while 10 appear in just one.

Wireless and wireline

None of Wellington’s holders carries a mobility brand in its registered name: all 20 prefixes belong to wireline or wholesale carriers, among them TELUS, Distributel, ISP Telecom Inc and Aliant Telecom (PEI). A call showing a Wellington number therefore nominally comes from a landline, cable or VoIP platform rather than a locally assigned cellphone.

How the allocation was built up

Wellington’s dated assignments run from 2001 to 2023. The busiest period was 2015–2019, when 5 prefixes went to 5 carriers. 6 prefixes (30%) carry no date in the register: these are the historic pre-1999 assignments, the wireline bedrock of the rate centre. Since 2020 another 5 prefixes have been added, so the rate centre is still growing.

Wellington’s oldest prefixes, the ones the register leaves undated, belong to TELUS, Aliant Telecom (PEI) and Bell Canada: these carriers made up the landscape before competition arrived. The first dated assignment went to TELUS in 2001. The most recent arrivals are ISP Telecom Inc. (2022), Fibernetics Corporation (2021) and TekSavvy Solutions Inc (2021), a sign that new carriers are still asking for numbers in Wellington.

Wellington has only 20 prefixes, or 200,000 numbers: a small rate centre, where the arrival of a single new carrier visibly changes the landscape.

No single carrier dominates Wellington: the leader, TELUS, holds only 30.0% of the prefixes against 12 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: 35.7% 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.

The register also shows 1 prefix assigned but not yet in service in Wellington (Rogers Communications Canada Inc. (Cable)): numbers that will start showing up on call displays in the coming months.

6 undated in the register.

Dialling a Wellington number

Wellington is served by 9 overlaid area codes (250, 343, 778, 236, 613, 672, 753, 782 and 902). A 902 number is no more “out of town” than a 250 one; from abroad, dial +1 and the full ten digits.

The numbering neighbourhood

Wellington shares area codes 250, 343, 778, 236, 613, 672, 753, 782 and 902 with at least 20 other rate centres, including Ottawa-Hull, Vancouver, Halifax, Victoria, Kingston, Kelowna, New Westminster and Abbotsford. The largest of them, Ottawa-Hull, holds 441 prefixes in 343, 613 and 753; the smallest on the list, Aldergrove, has just 35.

What a Wellington number tells you

A number attached to Wellington tells you that its prefix was issued to a carrier for this rate centre in British Columbia, most often TELUS. It does not tell you where the handset is today: a subscriber may have ported the number to any of the 13 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 British Columbia area code is easy to borrow to look local.

Reading a register entry for Wellington: code 250-729 is recorded for TELUS, so every 250-729-XXXX number (10,000 possible) descends from that assignment. “Wellington, British Columbia” there names a rate centre, not a municipality, and several area codes overlay it.

Every Wellington prefix

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

Allocated prefixes

All 20 in-service prefixes, grouped by rate centre.

Elsewhere in British Columbia