Phone prefixes in Woodstock

In numbers

In-service prefixes

47

Telephone numbers covered

470,000

Carriers

15

Area codes

5

Provinces and territories

2

First assignment

August 18, 2000

Most recent assignment

October 16, 2024

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 — 31 prefixes
• New Brunswick — 16 prefixes

Woodstock’s share of its area codes

Within area code 506, Woodstock accounts for only 15 of 677 prefixes (2.2%): the code is dominated by Moncton and spread over 88 rate centres. Within area code 226, Woodstock accounts for only 13 of 778 prefixes (1.7%): the code is dominated by London and spread over 166 rate centres. Within area code 519, Woodstock accounts for only 12 of 779 prefixes (1.5%): the code is dominated by London and spread over 210 rate centres. Within area code 548, Woodstock accounts for only 6 of 499 prefixes (1.2%): the code is dominated by London and spread over 170 rate centres. Within area code 428, Woodstock accounts for only 1 of 21 prefixes (4.8%): the code is dominated by Bathurst and spread over 15 rate centres.

Who holds these numbers

Iristel Inc. holds the largest share at 11 prefixes, 23.4% of the total, ahead of 14 other carriers. Code by code: in 506, Iristel Inc. leads with 4 of 15 prefixes ahead of 8 others; in 226, Iristel Inc. leads with 5 of 13 prefixes ahead of 6 others; in 519, Bell Canada leads with 6 of 12 prefixes ahead of 5 others; in 548, Iristel Inc. leads with 2 of 6 prefixes ahead of 4 others; Bell Mobility Aliant is the only holder in 428. No carrier holds prefixes in every one of Woodstock’s 5 area codes, while 6 appear in just one.

Wireless and wireline

14 of Woodstock’s 47 prefixes (29.8%) are held by carriers whose registered name marks a wireless business: Rogers Communications Canada Inc. (Wireless), TELUS Mobility, Bell Mobility Aliant, Fido Solutions Inc and Bell Mobility. Wireline prefixes still outnumber them, carried by Iristel Inc, Bell Canada, Aliant Telecom(NB) and Fibernetics Corporation. 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

Woodstock’s dated assignments run from 2000 to 2024. The busiest period was 2020–2024, when 10 prefixes went to 5 carriers. 11 prefixes (23%) carry no date in the register: these are the historic pre-1999 assignments, the wireline bedrock of the rate centre. Since 2020 another 10 prefixes have been added, so the rate centre is still growing.

Woodstock’s oldest prefixes, the ones the register leaves undated, belong to Bell Canada, Aliant Telecom(NB) and TELUS Mobility: these carriers made up the landscape before competition arrived. The first dated assignment went to Rogers Communications Canada Inc. (Wireless) in 2000. The most recent arrivals are Videotron Ltd. (2023), Bragg Communications Inc. (2023) and Fibernetics Corporation (2019), a sign that new carriers are still asking for numbers in Woodstock.

Woodstock’s 47 prefixes provide 470,000 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 Woodstock: the leader, Iristel Inc., holds only 23.4% of the prefixes against 14 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: 27.8% 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.

The register also shows 1 prefix assigned but not yet in service in Woodstock (Cogeco Connexion Inc): numbers that will start showing up on call displays in the coming months.

11 undated in the register.

Dialling a Woodstock number

Woodstock is served by 5 overlaid area codes (506, 226, 519, 548 and 428). A 428 number is no more “out of town” than a 506 one; from abroad, dial +1 and the full ten digits.

The numbering neighbourhood

Woodstock shares area codes 506, 226, 519, 548 and 428 with at least 20 other rate centres, including London, Kitchener-Waterloo, Windsor, Moncton, Saint John, Guelph, Brantford and Fredericton. The largest of them, London, holds 214 prefixes in 226, 519 and 548; the smallest on the list, Leamington, has just 22.

What a Woodstock number tells you

A number attached to Woodstock tells you that its prefix was issued to a carrier for this rate centre in Ontario, most often Iristel Inc.. It does not tell you where the handset is today: a subscriber may have ported the number to any of the 15 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 Woodstock: code 506-497 is recorded for Iristel Inc., so every 506-497-XXXX number (10,000 possible) descends from that assignment. “Woodstock, Ontario” there names a rate centre, not a municipality, and several area codes overlay it.

Every Woodstock prefix

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

Had a call from a Woodstock 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 47 in-service prefixes, grouped by rate centre.

Elsewhere in Ontario