Phone prefixes in Whalley, BC

In numbers

In-service prefixes

36

Telephone numbers covered

360,000

Carriers

12

Area codes

4

Provinces and territories

1

First assignment

April 19, 2000

Most recent assignment

August 18, 2020

Whalley’s share of its area codes

Within area code 604, Whalley accounts for only 21 of 781 prefixes (2.7%): the code is dominated by Vancouver and spread over 43 rate centres. Within area code 778, Whalley accounts for only 12 of 779 prefixes (1.5%): the code is dominated by Vancouver and spread over 159 rate centres. Within area code 236, Whalley accounts for only 2 of 745 prefixes (0.3%): the code is dominated by Vancouver and spread over 269 rate centres. Within area code 672, Whalley accounts for only 1 of 321 prefixes (0.3%): the code is dominated by Vancouver and spread over 109 rate centres.

Who holds these numbers

TELUS holds the largest share at 16 prefixes, 44.4% of the total, ahead of 11 other carriers. Code by code: in 604, TELUS leads with 14 of 21 prefixes ahead of 4 others; in 778, Shaw Telecom Inc. leads with 3 of 12 prefixes ahead of 8 others; in 236, TELUS leads with 1 of 2 prefixes ahead of 1 others; Fibernetics Corporation is the only holder in 672. No carrier holds prefixes in every one of Whalley’s 4 area codes, while 8 appear in just one.

Wireless and wireline

1 of Whalley’s 36 prefixes (2.8%) are held by carriers whose registered name marks a wireless business: Fido Solutions Inc. Wireline prefixes still outnumber them, carried by TELUS, Shaw Telecom Inc, Bell West Inc and Distributel. 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

Whalley’s dated assignments run from 2000 to 2020. The busiest period was 2010–2014, when 7 prefixes went to 5 carriers. 13 prefixes (36%) 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.

Whalley’s oldest prefixes, the ones the register leaves undated, belong to TELUS: this carrier made up the landscape before competition arrived. The first dated assignment went to Zayo Canada Inc. in 2000. The most recent arrivals are Fibernetics Corporation (2020), IXICA Communications Inc. (2018) and Primus Telecommunications Canada Inc. (2016), a sign that new carriers are still asking for numbers in Whalley.

Whalley’s 36 prefixes provide 360,000 numbers, which corresponds to a mid-sized city or a well-established suburb that every major carrier wants a slice of.

TELUS leads with 44.4% of the prefixes, but 11 competitors have set up in Whalley: a market where the incumbent keeps the edge without exclusivity.

Allocation is mature: only 4.3% of the dated prefixes are less than ten years old, most having been handed out in 2010–2014, and 13 prefixes go back to the undated monopoly era. New Whalley numbers mostly come out of blocks that were assigned long ago.

13 undated in the register.

Dialling a Whalley number

Whalley is served by 4 overlaid area codes (604, 778, 236 and 672). A 672 number is no more “out of town” than a 604 one; from abroad, dial +1 and the full ten digits.

The numbering neighbourhood

Whalley shares area codes 604, 778, 236 and 672 with at least 20 other rate centres, including Vancouver, New Westminster, Abbotsford, Victoria, Richmond, North Vancouver, Aldergrove and Kelowna. The largest of them, Vancouver, holds 740 prefixes in 236, 604, 672 and 778; the smallest on the list, Port Moody, has just 22.

What a Whalley number tells you

A number attached to Whalley 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 12 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 Whalley: code 604-580 is recorded for TELUS, so every 604-580-XXXX number (10,000 possible) descends from that assignment. “Whalley, British Columbia” there names a rate centre, not a municipality, and several area codes overlay it.

Every Whalley prefix

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

Had a call from a Whalley 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 36 in-service prefixes, grouped by rate centre.

Elsewhere in British Columbia