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Mille Sabords
Dec 11, 2007, 7:29 PM
An interesting power point slide show (pasted below) shows the various options to relieve Area Code 613 once it runs out of numbers in 2011. Either a split (with Ottawa keeping or giving up 613) or an overlay, is still up in the air. But the new area code will be 343.

http://www.cnac.ca/npa_codes/relief/613/meetings/NPA_613_Relief_10-13-07.ppt

Mille Sabords
Dec 11, 2007, 7:34 PM
Here is the link where the identity of our new Area Code is finally revealed:

http://www.cnac.ca/npa_codes/relief/613/documents/Draft_NPA_613_PD_4_DEC_2007.doc

Jamaican-Phoenix
Dec 11, 2007, 8:11 PM
So in other words, I'll need to dial 343-613-***-****?!

Jamaican-Phoenix
Dec 11, 2007, 8:13 PM
I think Ottawa proper should keep 613 and anything outside the greenbelt is 343...

Mille Sabords
Dec 11, 2007, 8:24 PM
So in other words, I'll need to dial 343-613-***-****?!

No. If they split the Eastern Ontario area that now has 613 under one of the various options, more than likely Ottawa would keep 613 and the outer regions would get 343. But it looks as though we'll have the new code as an overlay on the entire territory of 613, which means once 613 runs out of numbers you'll get a 343 number, so your next door neighbour can have a 613-NNN-NNNN number and you'll have the new 343-NNN-NNNN number.

AuxTown
Dec 11, 2007, 9:48 PM
That's retarded! Let the city have their 613 and the people in the rural areas (much less population) can change to the new area code.

clynnog
Dec 11, 2007, 10:22 PM
No. If they split the Eastern Ontario area that now has 613 under one of the various options, more than likely Ottawa would keep 613 and the outer regions would get 343. But it looks as though we'll have the new code as an overlay on the entire territory of 613, which means once 613 runs out of numbers you'll get a 343 number, so your next door neighbour can have a 613-NNN-NNNN number and you'll have the new 343-NNN-NNNN number.

My parents are in 905 yet their cell # is 289. 289 is an 'overlay' of 905 and it seems to work fine. It really isn't that big of a deal to have df't area codes in the same town. London, England has had it for 10+ years whereby inner London has a df't area code than outer London. Theoretically, adjoining streets could have df't area codes.

A sign of the times here in Ottawa is that in the last few years the 2nd digit in your exchange can now be a "0" or a "1"....these two 2nd digits were the last digits to be released.

Trivia question time...which area of Ontario has a Quebec telephone exchange and which area of Quebec has an Ontario telephone exchange.

Mille Sabords
Dec 12, 2007, 1:42 AM
Trivia question time...which area of Ontario has a Quebec telephone exchange and which area of Quebec has an Ontario telephone exchange.

:worship: OK - telephone numbering trivia time! Here's a possible answer: would it be all the federal government buildings that have dual-diallable numbers in both 613 and 819 area codes?

vid
Dec 12, 2007, 1:49 AM
CNAC doesn't separate them by area anymore, they just add overlays.

Another thing they stopped doing is geographically sorted local number codes. My phone number starts with 766, but I live more than 6 miles away from the town that the 76x numbers were originally assigned to years ago. :/ You can no longer tell where people live by their telephone number. I miss that.

Just think of it as an extra part of the phone number. Instead of 566-xxxx, it's 343-xxxxxxx.

And before you say that's hard to remember, in Britain, their telephone numbers are usually something along the lines of "+049899388543". So, buck up.

clynnog
Dec 12, 2007, 3:56 AM
:worship: OK - telephone numbering trivia time! Here's a possible answer: would it be all the federal government buildings that have dual-diallable numbers in both 613 and 819 area codes?

Wrong...I believe with the feds in Ottawa a persons phone # can be one of those 613 992 or something like that #'s, yet their phone location can switch between downtown Ottawa and downtown Hull.

Mille Sabords
Dec 12, 2007, 1:30 PM
Wrong...I believe with the feds in Ottawa a persons phone # can be one of those 613 992 or something like that #'s, yet their phone location can switch between downtown Ottawa and downtown Hull.

Right... so that a 613 992-NNNN number can also be dialed as 819 992-NNNN which is especially relevant now with 10d dialing. Those number prefixes have been reserved for the Feds and they haven't been given out in either 613 or 819 for decades.

So what's the answer then? :shrug:

harls
Dec 12, 2007, 2:46 PM
Some gov't offices in Hull have postal codes starting with "K"

..but I digress. we be talking phone numbers here.

clynnog
Dec 12, 2007, 5:17 PM
Trivia question time...which area of Ontario has a Quebec telephone exchange and which area of Quebec has an Ontario telephone exchange.


There are a few streets technically in the Township of East Hawkesbury (but really part of the QC community of Point Fortune, QC) that have 450 exhanges. If you drive down chemin Interprovinciale (the name gives itself away) leading from exit 1 on Autoroute 40, you'll see that houses on the west side are in Ont and on the east side they are in QC.

St. Regis, QC uses 613 575 which is an Ontario exchange. This community is part of the Cornwall area Indian reserve, but is only accessible via Hogansburg, NY (with no customs, border crossing etc). It is technically part of QC, but when I was last there all the cars on the driveway have Ontario plates. It is a strange enclave. When you leave St. Regis, QC, you are in the US and you need to go through the US to get anywhere else in QC or Ont. Snye, QC is not accessible from St. Regis, QC.

Mille Sabords
Dec 12, 2007, 7:42 PM
There are a few streets technically in the Township of East Hawkesbury (but really part of the QC community of Point Fortune, QC) that have 450 exhanges. If you drive down chemin Interprovinciale (the name gives itself away) leading from exit 1 on Autoroute 40, you'll see that houses on the west side are in Ont and on the east side they are in QC.

St. Regis, QC uses 613 575 which is an Ontario exchange. This community is part of the Cornwall area Indian reserve, but is only accessible via Hogansburg, NY (with no customs, border crossing etc). It is technically part of QC, but when I was last there all the cars on the driveway have Ontario plates. It is a strange enclave. When you leave St. Regis, QC, you are in the US and you need to go through the US to get anywhere else in QC or Ont. Snye, QC is not accessible from St. Regis, QC.

Fascinating. Even more so because I know about Point Roberts in BC, which is a US enclave (a peninsula), which can only be accessed by Canadian soil, but I didn't know about this, which is my back yard.

Telephone exchanges don't follow any conventional boundaries - the CNAC document shows that even if they split the 613 area code along lines that come closest to Ottawa City Limits, there will still be little bits and pieces here and there that stick out or in. It may simply have to do with the way the cables are laid out.

clynnog
Dec 12, 2007, 8:58 PM
Fascinating. Even more so because I know about Point Roberts in BC, which is a US enclave (a peninsula), which can only be accessed by Canadian soil, but I didn't know about this, which is my back yard.



A simple trip to the casino on the US side of the reserve would be a good excuse (if that is your sort of thing) and in a few minutes after crossing over at Cornwall you would be crossing again into St. Regis QC. It is also one of the few places where you can make a local call from Canada to the US. You can't do that in Cornwall, Niagara Falls, Prescott or places like that.

clynnog
Dec 12, 2007, 9:02 PM
Telephone exchanges don't follow any conventional boundaries - the CNAC document shows that even if they split the 613 area code along lines that come closest to Ottawa City Limits, there will still be little bits and pieces here and there that stick out or in. It may simply have to do with the way the cables are laid out.

Until the recent boundary changes for where a free call could be made it was LD from Kanata to North Gower or Manotick or Aylmer but a free call to the furthest reaches of Beacon Hill or Arnprior or Carleton Place. With the recent surcharge most of Ottawa is on an even keel. With most cell phones in the Ottawa region assigned to an Ottawa/Hull # the number of people making these relatively short LD calls in the 613 will be on the decline. Calling cards also help to reduce the LD charges.

I still remember dealing with a small municipality in eastern Ontario who wouldn't return my calls as it would mean making an LD call. They would wait for me to call after a day or so of them not returning the calls I had originally made to them. Obviously not a cutting edge 'we're open for business' kind of place.

waterloowarrior
Jan 8, 2008, 11:24 PM
staff report on projected exhaust of 613 area code (http://ottawa.ca/calendar/ottawa/citycouncil/csedc/2008/01-15/ACS2008-PTE-ECO-0006.htm)

I have a 226 number here in KW... a little annoying sometimes because I start saying the number and they've already typed/written 519-226-.... before they realize 226 is the area code.

Mille Sabords
Jan 9, 2008, 2:23 AM
Obviously, they are taking the "safe" approach that we don't want to piss off our neighbours and we don't want to piss off the telecom companies that would have to spend so much more money doing a split...

I will always think that a territory as big as the one covered by 613 ought to be split and the logical way to do it is Ottawa/The Rest. It's not "discrimination" (since when does having a certain area code make an area "inferior"??), it's just logic: most of the demand for new numbers comes from Ottawa. Split Ottawa out into its own as a first step, and then when Ottawa exhausts again, THEN you can overlay the hell out of it (and leave The Rest alone without the confusion of two or three area codes).

But I guess it's not really that big a deal...............

eemy
Jan 9, 2008, 3:47 AM
staff report on projected exhaust of 613 area code (http://ottawa.ca/calendar/ottawa/citycouncil/csedc/2008/01-15/ACS2008-PTE-ECO-0006.htm)

I have a 226 number here in KW... a little annoying sometimes because I start saying the number and they've already typed/written 519-226-.... before they realize 226 is the area code.

Me too. Ditto on the annoyance. I kind of like it though.

clynnog
Jan 9, 2008, 1:43 PM
I will always think that a territory as big as the one covered by 613 ought to be split and the logical way to do it is Ottawa/The Rest.



By Ottawa do you mean the "City" of Ottawa, the Ottawa portion of the Ottawa-Gatineau CMA or the area that can currently call "Ottawa" phone numbers w/o LD charges. For the "City" of Ottawa route there are problems as people near Arnprior, Kemptville, etc, who are technically in the "City" of Ottawa typically have phone # exchanges that are also assigned to areas outside the "City" of Ottawa. (i.e people in the 'City' of Ottawa near Arnprior have 613 623 exchange #'s just like regular Arnprior folks yet there is no easy way to determine from the last 4 digits on a 613 623 whether or not they live in Arnprior proper or Ottawa proper.

What about all new activations get the new area code within the current 613. Most of the growth is via cell #'s...fax/pager activations have died out these days, haven't they?

Mille Sabords
Jan 9, 2008, 1:50 PM
By Ottawa do you mean the "City" of Ottawa, the Ottawa portion of the Ottawa-Gatineau CMA or the area that can currently call "Ottawa" phone numbers w/o LD charges. For the "City" of Ottawa route there are problems as people near Arnprior, Kemptville, etc, who are technically in the "City" of Ottawa typically have phone # exchanges that are also assigned to areas outside the "City" of Ottawa. (i.e people in the 'City' of Ottawa near Arnprior have 613 623 exchange #'s just like regular Arnprior folks yet there is no easy way to determine from the last 4 digits on a 613 623 whether or not they live in Arnprior proper or Ottawa proper.

What about all new activations get the new area code within the current 613. Most of the growth is via cell #'s...fax/pager activations have died out these days, haven't they?

That does seem to be the problem, indeed. The boundaries between exchanges would be more of a jagged edge rather than the clean political boundary of the amalgamated City of Ottawa (which is what I had in mind). The last split to be done in Canada (514/450) was easy to do because 514 just stayed on the Island of Montreal and thus the boundary was clear.

Another option would've been to split away the 613 Local Calling Area centered on Ottawa, which then would've included most of the adjacent municipalities but, again, with a jagged edge, so some of the municipalities would've ended up with two area codes.

I can see why the Overlay solution is the simplest one, but it would still make long-term sense IMHO to retain the geographic identifiability of an area code by splitting large territories like this one when relief is needed. At least you'd know whether the phone number you're dialing is in Ottawa or elsewhere in Eastern Ontario if it's 613 or 343.

clynnog
Feb 4, 2008, 5:11 PM
I can see why the Overlay solution is the simplest one, but it would still make long-term sense IMHO to retain the geographic identifiability of an area code by splitting large territories like this one when relief is needed. At least you'd know whether the phone number you're dialing is in Ottawa or elsewhere in Eastern Ontario if it's 613 or 343.


Is the overlay the way it is going to go. I wonder what mandate the City of Ottawa has to debate this area code issue as it is a federal matter being imposed on many municipalities.

harls
Feb 4, 2008, 5:20 PM
Would it make sense to make Ottawa/Gatineau metro 613?

vid
Feb 4, 2008, 5:41 PM
Exchange demand has gone down. As people cancel pagers, faxes, and landlines, more extensions will free up.

Overlays are a cost saving measure. Unless you want to pay even more money for them to do the work to change the area code, an overlay is what you're getting.

When NWO got 807 in 1962, (we used to be 705) most communities didn't even have phones, or had one extension for the whole town. That made creating a new area code much easier. Eastern Ontario is nothing like that. Changing the area code for that many people would be too complex and costly.

It would make sense for the Ottawa/Gatineau metro to be under one area code, but it would be too much work for the phone companies.

clynnog
Feb 4, 2008, 6:25 PM
Exchange demand has gone down. As people cancel pagers, faxes, and landlines, more extensions will free up.

You are correct in terms of fax machine #'s going the way of the dodo...many 1 person home based businesses are just going with a cell that has lots of minutes on it. Pagers are pretty low these days in terms of new activations. Many families these days have a cell per person which adds up to new activiations pretty quickly.

clynnog
Feb 4, 2008, 6:27 PM
Would it make sense to make Ottawa/Gatineau metro 613?


The only area code that straddles a provincial boundary is 902 which serves PEI and NS. I gather that the overlay option is the one that will be used..i.e all new activations will be 343. Most of those will be new cell activations or new homes in growing communities.

Acajack
Feb 4, 2008, 6:50 PM
It’s a minor and quirky exception but the Ottawa/Eastern Ontario area code spills over into a tiny area of Quebec north of Pembroke where the village of Rapides-des-Joachims (near Rolphton and Chalk River) is actually in 613 instead of 819. The Quebec village is also only accessible by road from Ontario’s Highway 17 via a dam-bridge across the Ottawa River.

Also, I seem to recall that the phone numbers for federal government offices located in Hull used to have 613 numbers, but that was changed a few years ago. There “official” numbers are now all 819s, but I believe they still work if you dial them with the 613 area code.

Finally, the 819 area code, in addition to a big arc around the Montreal area in southwestern Quebec, actually used to cover the Eastern Arctic of the NWT before Nunavut was created. All three territories are now in the 867 area code.

Acajack
Feb 4, 2008, 6:57 PM
Gatineau in the same area code as Ottawa won’t ever fly.

It’s bad enough that cell phone repeaters in Gatineau often connect us as if we’re in Ottawa, which is especially frustrating when you call directory assistance, and have to spell out every single French word to some operator in Omaha, Nebraska who seems to think you just dropped off a spacecraft from Mars. Pretty annoying to be sitting in Quebec looking for a number in Quebec and have to spell out basic names like “Jacques Tremblay” or “Pierre Lapointe” that any 8-year-old in Quebec can spell quite easily… sort of like if you called 411 in the anglo world and having to painstakingly spell out “John Smith” to a clueless operator.

clynnog
Feb 4, 2008, 7:36 PM
It’s a minor and quirky exception but the Ottawa/Eastern Ontario area code spills over into a tiny area of Quebec north of Pembroke where the village of Rapides-des-Joachims (near Rolphton and Chalk River) is actually in 613 instead of 819. The Quebec village is also only accessible by road from Ontario’s Highway 17 via a dam-bridge across the Ottawa River.


Well spotted. There is also a small area of Ontario near Pointe Fortune (near exit 1 on the 417) that is in 450 and also a reverse sitaution where St. Regis, QC is in 613. St. Regis is in QC and part of the indian reserve near Cornwall, but St. Regis itself is only accessible via New York state.

Acajack
Feb 4, 2008, 8:10 PM
Thanks Clynnog. I had forgotten about Pointe-Fortune.

Didn’t know about St. Regis though. That’s a pretty "special" corner of the world I must say.

Mille Sabords
Mar 26, 2008, 5:39 PM
Looks like the new area code for Gatineau, when the time comes for its distributed overlay, will be either 871, 873, 431 or 468.
(source: http://www.cnac.ca/npa_codes/relief/613/relief_613.htm)

Acajack
Mar 26, 2008, 5:54 PM
I wonder what the probabilities are of this happening anytime soon. 819 covers much of Quebec from Abitibi in the west to the Eastern Townships. This area probably has a population of roughly one million people. Are area codes serving 1 million people running out of numbers these days? I have no idea. That’s why I’m asking the question.

When one considers how oddly shaped this area code is, it might be more logical to split it into to two, for example between the zone north and west of the St. Lawrence (Trois-Rivières, Gatineau, Val-d’Or, Rouyn-Noranda, etc.) and the more eastern part (Drummondville, Sherbrooke, etc.)

eemy
Mar 26, 2008, 6:42 PM
As I recall, it shouldn't run out for a long time; maybe 20 years or so? Now that there isn't any CO code protection between Ottawa and Gatineau, there are far more phone numbers available for 819.

Mille Sabords
Mar 26, 2008, 7:54 PM
Just as well, I'm not crazy about either of the four possible new area codes. At some point there was talk of having a concentrated overlay for Ottawa AND Gatineau but I guess that would've made too much sense. I agree they should split this code, of all the residual area codes in Canada this one has to be the least cohesive of'em all.

harls
Mar 27, 2008, 1:10 PM
I blame all of the 10 year olds with cell phones for this shortage.

Bucolic Urbanity
Mar 27, 2008, 3:20 PM
Looks like the new area code for Gatineau, when the time comes for its distributed overlay, will be either 871, 873, 431 or 468.
(source: http://www.cnac.ca/npa_codes/relief/613/relief_613.htm)

Do you mean Gatineau or Ottawa or both ?

Personally, if all new phone activations in 613 become a new area code, that would work fine...that is what they did with 416/647 905/289 and 519/228? and I think that is what they are going to do (or already done) for 514.

I imagine that this demand on new phone #'s will die down soon once the new cell phone activation levels peter out. Most people who want a cell have one now.

Deez
Mar 27, 2008, 3:51 PM
I blame all of the 10 year olds with cell phones for this shortage.

I blame all of the federal government workers that are too important to be given an extension from a central number :rolleyes: . I couldn't believe it when I found out that most fed employees have their own personal 7 digit number.

Mille Sabords
Mar 27, 2008, 3:53 PM
Do you mean Gatineau or Ottawa or both ?

Personally, if all new phone activations in 613 become a new area code, that would work fine...that is what they did with 416/647 905/289 and 519/228? and I think that is what they are going to do (or already done) for 514.

I imagine that this demand on new phone #'s will die down soon once the new cell phone activation levels peter out. Most people who want a cell have one now.

Ottawa already has a new area code lined up, 343. It will probably be phased in around 2010-2011 as 613 runs out of numbers. The new area code is an overlay, as was done in Toronto with 647 on top of 416, and in Montreal with 438 on top of 514.

Area code 819, which covers Gatineau and a strangely-shaped chunk of Quebec, will get a new area code some time in a more distant future when it runs out of numbers. I would venture that Gatineau is probably the biggest originator of new numbers in that whole area code but, by itself, it isn't big enough to warrant a split to see Gatineau only keep 819.

wingman
Jun 4, 2008, 3:10 PM
I blame all of the federal government workers that are too important to be given an extension from a central number :rolleyes: . I couldn't believe it when I found out that most fed employees have their own personal 7 digit number.

It's true. I work for an unnamed Federal Department and I believe every single person here has their own 7 digit number. It's because of the system we are on I believe (I think we are on a Centrex system)... prob very costly now to change it. Don't forget about all the fax and cell numbers too - every office has at least 1 fax and many people have a land line AND a cell. To me that is a waste. You only need 1 phone for goodness sakes... if you have a cell you should HAVE to give up your land line... though the 934, 953, 956, 997 numbers will never be released to the public so maybe it makes no difference for the land lines. But the cell phone get regular numbers - there never were any cell numbers set aside for the feds.

C'est la vie.

c_speed3108
Jun 4, 2008, 3:34 PM
It's true. I work for an unnamed Federal Department and I believe every single person here has their own 7 digit number. It's because of the system we are on I believe (I think we are on a Centrex system)... prob very costly now to change it. Don't forget about all the fax and cell numbers too - every office has at least 1 fax and many people have a land line AND a cell. To me that is a waste. You only need 1 phone for goodness sakes... if you have a cell you should HAVE to give up your land line... though the 934, 953, 956, 997 numbers will never be released to the public so maybe it makes no difference for the land lines. But the cell phone get regular numbers - there never were any cell numbers set aside for the feds.

C'est la vie.


The biggest problem in phone number usage is the growth of cell phones and other similar devices.

As far as offices with direct to desk numbers vs extensions: Unless it is a work place with very light phone usage a huge number of lines will still be needed and all lines have numbers regardless of whether they are ever dialed. This includes things like payphones. I work in an office with a line pool and each line has a number. The only time all but the first number ever gets dialed is when we need to test something. Most of the staff does not even know what the other numbers are.

It would actually be an interesting idea to move cell phones (and such) to separate area codes since they are not geographically tied at least in the conventional sense.

clynnog
Jun 4, 2008, 4:47 PM
The biggest problem in phone number usage is the growth of cell phones and other similar devices.

I work in an office with a line pool and each line has a number. The only time all but the first number ever gets dialed is when we need to test something. Most of the staff does not even know what the other numbers are.

It would actually be an interesting idea to move cell phones (and such) to separate area codes since they are not geographically tied at least in the conventional sense.


I worked for a consulting firm in the Toronto area for years and at 17h00 the receptionist put the main # on the answering machine. However, people knew what the 2nd line # was and gave that # to their spouses etc, if they needed to get hold of them after 17h00. The company had about 12 incoming/outgoing lines, but only line 1 was on the company letterhead etc.

Now with LNP (local number portability) cell phone exchanges can be the same as regular land line exchanges (not sure if it is the other way around). In the UK all cell phone exchanges start with the prefix 07 I believe...it is a way to tell if you are calling a cell phone.

Cell phone exchanges are still tied to a geographic area...otherwise we would have no roaming or LD charges.

clynnog
Jun 4, 2008, 4:49 PM
It's true. I work for an unnamed Federal Department and I believe every single person here has their own 7 digit number.

I wish that the City of Ottawa had this instead of the generic 613 580 2400 showing up on my call display. It would be great to know who from 110 Laurier is calling me and if I want to answer or not.

Mille Sabords
Jun 4, 2008, 7:17 PM
I wish that the City of Ottawa had this instead of the generic 613 580 2400 showing up on my call display. It would be great to know who from 110 Laurier is calling me and if I want to answer or not.

:lmao: :cheers:

harls
Jun 4, 2008, 8:58 PM
In the UK all cell phone exchanges start with the prefix 07 I believe...it is a way to tell if you are calling a cell phone.


We don't need that in Canada, you can tell if the person is calling from a cell simply by list..ng ..f ..he.. ersons voic.. ..utting in and ..ut.

clynnog
Jun 5, 2008, 11:47 AM
We don't need that in Canada, you can tell if the person is calling from a cell simply by list..ng ..f ..he.. ersons voic.. ..utting in and ..ut.


This may be slightly OT, but where in the greater Ottawa area have you had absolutely no cell phone reception.

For me:


parts of the elevators at 110 Laurier and the P2 level of the u/g parking
between Richmond and the Dwyer Hill/Franktown intersection
between Bourget and Lemieux
on chemin Notch between Chelsea and Aylmer (this may have been fixed on Rogers now)
between Cantley and Wakefield, near the ski resort
on the west side of L'Orginal
between Glen Robertson and Dalhousie Mills, Ont

Any others people can think of...the holes are getting smaller and are dependent on population, terrain etc.

Ottawade
Jun 6, 2008, 4:52 AM
Not to aid in derailing the conversation, but everyone who works in my lab had to switch phone services from bell/telus to rogers/fido on Carleton campus. It was pretty much impossible to receive a call on bell, so much so most of us turned our phones off to avoid the frustration of hearing the phone ringing, but knowing that answering it was futile. On the other hand there seems to be a rogers/fido tower right on campus.

c_speed3108
Jun 6, 2008, 12:03 PM
Not to aid in derailing the conversation, but everyone who works in my lab had to switch phone services from bell/telus to rogers/fido on Carleton campus. It was pretty much impossible to receive a call on bell, so much so most of us turned our phones off to avoid the frustration of hearing the phone ringing, but knowing that answering it was futile. On the other hand there seems to be a rogers/fido tower right on campus.

We actually discovered a similar thing at U of O. The Rogers system could penetrate sub-basements and such (which U of O is full of), while the Telus/Bell system sends you running for the nearest window every time you need to make a call... :(

clynnog
Jun 6, 2008, 12:27 PM
We actually discovered a similar thing at U of O. The Rogers system could penetrate sub-basements and such (which U of O is full of), while the Telus/Bell system sends you running for the nearest window every time you need to make a call... :(

I believe it is something to do with the frequencies that Telus/Bell use vs Rogers/Fido..one is GSM and one isn't. Rogers/Fido probably has better reception inside the core of buildings but once you get out in rural areas, Bell often works where Rogers doesn't. For example, Bell works in Algonquin Park and Rogers doesn't (why you want a cell phone in such a beautiful place is beyond me).

BlackRedGold
Jun 6, 2008, 1:15 PM
For example, Bell works in Algonquin Park and Rogers doesn't (why you want a cell phone in such a beautiful place is beyond me).

Maybe in case you've hit a moose and want to get help ASAP?

c_speed3108
Jun 6, 2008, 2:31 PM
I believe it is something to do with the frequencies that Telus/Bell use vs Rogers/Fido..one is GSM and one isn't. Rogers/Fido probably has better reception inside the core of buildings but once you get out in rural areas, Bell often works where Rogers doesn't. For example, Bell works in Algonquin Park and Rogers doesn't (why you want a cell phone in such a beautiful place is beyond me).

This could be it. I worked in a large government building in the city for a agency that had a contract with Bell for cell phones. Bell had gone through the building and installed indoor cell antennas on the ceiling each floor of the building. They were located in the core by the elevators. I have also seen the same ones in the Rideau Centre as well.

clynnog
Jun 6, 2008, 2:34 PM
Maybe in case you've hit a moose and want to get help ASAP?

For the moose or yourself and/or your car?

IIRC, the cell phone reception in Algonquin only really works for about 2 km on either side of Hwy 60 and they had to hide the towers on or near existing hydro poles etc.

Mille Sabords
Dec 3, 2009, 2:30 AM
New area code will be in service on May 17th 2010:

==============

Ottawa area to get new '343' area code
The Ottawa Citizen
September 29, 2009

OTTAWA — Regions around the nation’s capital and Montreal will have new numbers to remember next summer as two new area codes are introduced.

The 613 area code, which stretches across many eastern Ontario communities — including Ottawa, Kingston, Brockville, Cornwall, Belleville and Bancroft — will now share space with a new 343 area code. The changes will begin on May 17, 2010, with the new area code introduced into existing 613 regions.

Near Montreal, the 450 area code, which has only been in use since 1998, will get some relief from a new 579 area code.

The 450 region encompasses areas such as Laval, Quebec’s north and south shores, Lanaudiere, Monteregie, the Richelieu Valley and some parts of the Laurentians and Estrie.

The changes will start on Aug. 21, 2010 in that region.

Both the 613 and 450 area codes, however, will continue to be distributed until capacity is reached.

The need for new area codes, which come after a ruling from the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission, are a result of increased demand for new phone numbers for personal and commercial wireless services and Internet connections.

Zach6668
Dec 7, 2009, 9:56 PM
I just read the whole thread, and just have one thought.

Initially, it seemed like having 2 area codes would be a giant pain in the ass, but when I think about it more, I can't remember the last time I dialed a number from memory. Every call I ever make comes from my contact list, or I look it up in the phone book/online, etc, which means all 10 digits will be listed anyways, so there's no confusion or anything like that.

Now, I don't do a lot of phoning, so maybe it is a PITA for people who use the phone more, but really, this won't change a thing in my day to day life, ever.

Ottawan
Dec 8, 2009, 3:08 AM
We already have to worry about 613 vs 819, so adding one more into the mix isn't such a big deal.

I actually feel worse for those who don't live in or near Ottawa, but in the rest of the 613 area. If a new area code had been regionally based as beyond-Ottawa borders, that could last them a long time, whereas I foresee that regarding Ottawa, another new area code could be neccessary somewhere down the line.

Richard Eade
Dec 8, 2009, 4:15 AM
I'm just waiting for June 18, 2010 when I no longer need to pay 50 cents every phone bill to subsidize Kanata calling Orleans.

eternallyme
Dec 8, 2009, 5:43 PM
We already have to worry about 613 vs 819, so adding one more into the mix isn't such a big deal.

I actually feel worse for those who don't live in or near Ottawa, but in the rest of the 613 area. If a new area code had been regionally based as beyond-Ottawa borders, that could last them a long time, whereas I foresee that regarding Ottawa, another new area code could be neccessary somewhere down the line.

819 will likely add a new code as well early in the next decade.

If 613 was split along the lines of the telephone exchanges sitting in the City of Ottawa, the outlying 343 would likely last quite a while (probably at least 2050), while Ottawa would need a second code before 2030, sooner than with the overlay.

Why feel bad for the outlying areas? Everyone outside Ottawa would have had to change their phone numbers (from 613-xxx-xxxx to 343-xxx-xxxx). That would be quite a burden for businesses and especially the small phone companies in the outlying areas.

harls
Dec 8, 2009, 6:24 PM
Why feel bad for the outlying areas? Everyone outside Ottawa would have had to change their phone numbers (from 613-xxx-xxxx to 343-xxx-xxxx). That would be quite a burden for businesses and especially the small phone companies in the outlying areas.

Didn't Northern Alberta have to do this not that long ago? I don't know when 780 came into effect, but it must have been just as disruptive.

Acajack
Dec 8, 2009, 6:59 PM
819 will likely add a new code as well early in the next decade.

.

Not everyone realizes it but 819 is not just the area code for the Outaouais. It covers a huge region of Quebec both west, east and north of Montreal.

Places in the 819 area code include:

Sherbrooke
Drummondville
Trois-Rivières
Shawinigan
Rouyn-Noranda
Val-d'Or
The Laurentians (Tremblant, etc.)
The Cree and Inuit communities in the north of Quebec all the way to James, Hudson and Ungava bays

It used to be even bigger and used to include the eastern NWT (now Nunavut). All three territories are now grouped together under one area code.

Dado
Dec 8, 2009, 7:34 PM
819 will likely add a new code as well early in the next decade.

If 613 was split along the lines of the telephone exchanges sitting in the City of Ottawa, the outlying 343 would likely last quite a while (probably at least 2050), while Ottawa would need a second code before 2030, sooner than with the overlay.

Why feel bad for the outlying areas? Everyone outside Ottawa would have had to change their phone numbers (from 613-xxx-xxxx to 343-xxx-xxxx). That would be quite a burden for businesses and especially the small phone companies in the outlying areas.

Ya, I didn't get that reasoning either. I'm sure there are plenty of homes in the rural areas that have had the same number for 40 years whose residents wouldn't be too happy about having to give them up. It's just more grumble-worthy fodder for complaining about being oppressed by Ottawa.

It would have made more sense, when you come down to it, for urban Ottawa to get the new area code and to cease handing out 613 numbers in urban Ottawa so as to maximize their life elsewhere since there's not really a compelling case to hand out 343 numbers to anyone outside Ottawa's urban boundary given that most of the growth in phone numbers is from Ottawa and not the rest of the area code.

Proof Sheet
Dec 8, 2009, 8:23 PM
I'm sure there are plenty of homes in the rural areas that have had the same number for 40 years whose residents wouldn't be too happy about having to give them up. It's just more grumble-worthy fodder for complaining about being oppressed by Ottawa.


You have encapsulated perfectly Lowell's audience.

RTWAP
Dec 9, 2009, 10:22 PM
Ya, I didn't get that reasoning either. I'm sure there are plenty of homes in the rural areas that have had the same number for 40 years whose residents wouldn't be too happy about having to give them up. It's just more grumble-worthy fodder for complaining about being oppressed by Ottawa.

It would have made more sense, when you come down to it, for urban Ottawa to get the new area code and to cease handing out 613 numbers in urban Ottawa so as to maximize their life elsewhere since there's not really a compelling case to hand out 343 numbers to anyone outside Ottawa's urban boundary given that most of the growth in phone numbers is from Ottawa and not the rest of the area code.

Good idea.

You have encapsulated perfectly Lowell's audience.

Just because they complain a lot doesn't mean all of their complaints are unreasonable or unfounded.

Dado
Dec 10, 2009, 1:16 AM
I hadn't intended to encapsulate Lowell's audience, and I doubt his entire audience consists of ruralites who've inhabited their houses for 40 odd years or more...

I just don't think there's anything to be gained in needling people elsewhere in Eastern Ontario by imposing a new area code on them when the cause of the need for a new area code is our own growth. It's unfair and unreasonable and, like I said, just provides fodder for an anti-urban Ottawa agenda. Urban dwellers are going to be far more accepting of a new area code, particularly if many are newcomers to the city anyway and won't know any different.

eternallyme
Dec 10, 2009, 3:21 PM
They considered the concentrated overlay (343 only in Ottawa, use the remaining 613 numbers elsewhere) and rejected it, since growth in the outlying areas is enough that 343 would have to be expanded anyway within a few years.

RTWAP
Dec 10, 2009, 9:20 PM
They considered the concentrated overlay (343 only in Ottawa, use the remaining 613 numbers elsewhere) and rejected it, since growth in the outlying areas is enough that 343 would have to be expanded anyway within a few years.

Sounds like they could have done it if they'd started a few years ago. But at the end of the day they would still need to support both area codes in both geographies.

Another factor could be that they don't have many unused branch numbers (or whatever they call them). I think the way the land lines are set up, the 613-XXX-0000 to 613-XXX-9999 is supposed to be all in the same area. Now that they have number portability for cellphones that might not be the case for landlines either.

Meh. Not important enough to figure out.

Norman Bates
Dec 11, 2009, 2:10 AM
Another factor could be that they don't have many unused branch numbers (or whatever they call them). I think the way the land lines are set up, the 613-XXX-0000 to 613-XXX-9999 is supposed to be all in the same area. These three digit groupings are called telephone exchange numbers.

RTWAP
Dec 11, 2009, 6:23 PM
These three digit groupings are called telephone exchange numbers.

Thanks. :worship:

Cre47
Jul 24, 2011, 9:47 PM
819 will likely add a new code as well early in the next decade.


Yep 873 will start in September 2012

(In French) http://www.radio-canada.ca/regions/ottawa/2011/07/21/001-nouvel-indicatif-regional.shtml