Demand for telephone numbers with area code 416 for mobile, foreign exchange and voice over IP service in the 905-suburbs (Durham, Peel, York and Halton regions) has elevated the local significance of these numbers as their local calling area is a superset of that of a suburban number.[1]
History
Evolution of area codes in Ontario and southwestern Quebec
Toronto's original manual telephone exchanges were recognized by an exchange name and a block of four-digit line numbers. The "GRover exchange" at Kingston Road and Main Street in East Toronto became the first Canadian dial exchange in 1924. Montréal got its first dial telephones one year later.[2] The numbers were dialled as two letters and four digits (2L+4N). Grover 1234 was dialled GR-1234 (or 47-1234). Conversion to seven-digit (2L+5N) format began in 1951, and continued until the introduction of direct distance dialling (DDD) in 1958.[3]
Area code 416 has been split twice. The first came in 1953, when the western portion of 416 (including Kitchener) was combined with the southern portion of area code 613 to form area code 519. This left 416 largely co-extensive with the area that is generally reckoned as the core of the Golden Horseshoe. Despite rapid growth in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA), this configuration remained for 40 years.
By the late 1980s, however, 416 was close to exhaustion because of the GTA's continued growth and Canada's inefficient number allocation system. Canada does not use number pooling as a relief measure. All competing carriers are assigned 10,000-number blocks, which correspond roughly to a single prefix, in each rate centre in which it plans to offer service, regardless of its actual subscriber count. Most rate centres do not need nearly that many numbers to serve their customers, but a number cannot be allocated elsewhere once it has been assigned to a carrier and rate centre, resulting in thousands of wasted numbers. The problem was less severe in the Golden Horseshoe than in other areas of Canada since then, as now, numbers tended to be used up fairly quickly because of the area's dramatic growth.
The GTA's rapid growth in telecommunication services, and the proliferation of cell phones, fax machines, and pagers, demanded more central offices, with another area code for the Golden Horseshoe soon becoming necessary. This resulted in a second split of 416 when, in October 1993, the area code's numbering plan area was reduced to its current size, consisting only of the municipalities constituting Metropolitan Toronto (East York, Etobicoke, North York, Old Toronto, Scarborough, and York). The rest of the former 416 numbering plan area, consisting of the Golden Horseshoe outside Metropolitan Toronto (the Niagara Peninsula, the regional municipalities of Durham, Halton, Hamilton–Wentworth, Peel, and York, and parts of Northumberland County) were assigned area code 905. Although 905 was introduced in 1993, permissive dialing of 416 for the Golden Horseshoe beyond Metropolitan Toronto continued until March 1994.
With the amalgamation of Metropolitan Toronto into the "megacity" of Toronto in 1998, 416 became the only Canadian area code to serve just one rate centre and just one city. Many of Canada's larger cities, especially "megacities" that have been created from mergers of previously separate cities, are split between multiple rate centres that have never been amalgamated. Toronto is an exception and has been a single rate centre, which is by far Canada's largest, since 1977, with the merger of the historical Agincourt, Don Mills, Islington, New Toronto, Scarborough, West Hill, Weston, and Willowdale exchanges into the Toronto exchange.[5]
The 1993 split had been intended as a long-term solution for Canada's largest toll-free calling zone. Within five years, however, 416 was once again close to exhaustion. Toronto's size and status as a single rate centre have caused numbers to tend to be used up fairly quickly. Therefore, the number allocation problem was not nearly as serious as in other Canadian cities that are split between multiple rate centres. Splitting Toronto between two area codes, a solution adopted in the United States for cities like New York City, Chicago and Los Angeles, was ruled out because of the area's high population density and the lack of a suitable boundary along which to split. Another option was the conversion to an overlay plan for 416. Overlays were a new concept that was somewhat controversial because of the requirement for ten-digit dialling. Bell and other telephone companies pressed for an overlay since they wanted to spare their customers the expense and burden of having to change telephone numbers, which would have required a massive reprogramming of cellular telephones. Also, it would have been extremely difficult to split Toronto since it is a single rate centre. Ultimately, the decision was made to implement an overlay.
On March 5, 2001, 416 was overlaid with area code 647, creating Canada's first overlay. The implementation of 647 made ten-digit dialling mandatory in Toronto. Within a decade, both 416 and 647 were close to exhaustion once again. A new overlay area code, 437, started operation on March 25, 2013.[6][7] That effectively allocates 24 million numbers to a city of 2.5 million people.
Area code 942 is scheduled for addition to the 416/647/437 overlay on April 26, 2025.[8]Area code 387 has been reserved for Toronto's future use.
Since the implementation of area code 647, overlays have become the preferred solution for exhaustion relief in Canada, as it does not require renumbering existing subscriber accounts. As of April 28, 2023, only three Canadian area codes (709, 807, and 867) are still single-code areas, without overlay, still allowing seven-digit dialing for local calls.
Future
A 2020 exhaust analysis by the NANPA projects exhaustion in 2025 for central office prefixes in the numbering plan area.[9]
In the Greater Toronto Area, the terms the 416 is also used to describe the area within Toronto proper, and Toronto residents are called 416ers. In recent years, Toronto has been increasingly referred to as "The 6". The suburbs are referred to as the 905 or the 905 belt, and suburbanites are called 905ers (in this use the term does not include the more distant parts of area code 905, such as Niagara Falls).
The 647 area code does not carry the same strong geographic associations as it disproportionately contains nomadic services (such as mobile telephones and voice over IP); an incumbent Bell land line is hard-wired to a specific location in area 416, postal code M. Some have paid a premium for a true 416 number as the code gives the appearance of a local, long-established business instead of a new entrant.[11][12]
On March 17, 1966, The Munsters episode "A Visit from Johann" depicted a person-to-person call to a Happy Valley Lodge in the 416 area code.[13] A hamlet of Happy Valley exists in King Township, in 416 at the time but now (as part of York Region) in 905.
In 1994, food delivery chain Pizza Pizza obtained a Canadian registered trademark on its 416 telephone number, 967–1111, which had featured in distinctive radio advertising jingles since the 1970s.[14]
Toronto rapper Maestro Fresh Wes rendered homage to the area code in his 1998 song "416/905 (TO Party Anthem)". Rapper Drake has a tattoo of the number on his rib to symbolize Toronto as his birthplace.[15] Drake has also released his fourth studio album, titled Views, referring to the 416 and 647 area codes. His album picture is of him sitting on top of the CN Tower in Toronto.
All central office codes reside within the rate centre of Toronto. In some cases, 416 prefixes are available to wire centres outside Toronto city limits which serve Toronto subscribers (such as MALTON22 in Mississauga, which serves an airport hotel strip in Toronto).
Exchange names
Toronto's original manual telephone exchanges used exchange names, each serving a block of four-digit telephone numbers. The GRover exchange at Kingston Road and Main Street in East Toronto was the first Canadian dial exchange in 1924. Montréal in Quebec got its first dial telephones one year later.[2] The numbers were dialled with two letters and four digits (2L-4N). For example, GRover 1234 was dialled GR1234 (or 471234). Conversion to seven-digit (2L-5N) format began in 1951, and continued up to the introduction of direct distance dialling (DDD) in 1958.
Toronto numbers that were converted from 2L-4N format, or from manual service, include:
416–363, 364, 366, 368 (EMpire 3,4,6,8) were ADelaide, ELgin, PLaza and WAverly in the Adelaide St (Queen West) area west of downtown. These were the first to be lengthened to 2L-5N in 1951–1953.
416-861 (UNiversity 1) was TRinity exchange in the Adelaide St (Queen West) area west of downtown (lengthened to 2L-5N in 1955).
416–921, 922, 923, 924 (WAlnut 1,2,3,4) were RAndolph, KIngsdale, MIdway and PRincess (lengthened to 2L-5N in 1954) in the Annex.
416–691, 694, 699 (OXford 1,4,9) were HOward, GRover, OXford (lengthened to 2L-5N in 1955) in East Toronto. These numbers usually relate to the Beaches and Upper Beaches neighbourhoods or to Crescent Town in East York.
416–461, 463, 465, 466 (HOward 1,3,5,6) were RIverdale, GErrard, GLadstone, HArgrave east of downtown (lengthened to 2L-5N in 1957).
416–483, 485, 488, 489 (HUdson 3,5,8,9) were MOhawk, MAyfair (lengthened to 2L-5N in 1958) and HUdson, HYland (lengthened to 2L-5N in 1953); these served the Eglinton area, then the northernmost point on the TTC subway (1954).
416–782, 783 (RUssell 2,3) were ORchard, REdfern (lengthened to 2L-5N in 1958) in the Willowdale/Weston areas in the north of the city.
416–762, 766, 767, 769 (ROger 2,6,7,9) were MUrray, ROdney, LYndhurst, JUnction (lengthened to 2L-5N in 1955) in the Runnymede/Toronto Junction area in the west end.
416–531, 532, 533, 534, 535, 536 (LEnnox 1,2,3,4,5,6) were MElrose, LAkeside, KEnwood, OLiver, LLoydbrook, LOmbard in the Dufferin Street area west of downtown (lengthened to 2L-5N in 1956).[5]
Additional named exchanges were created (as 2L-5N) in the late 1950s to accommodate expansion into then-growing suburbs such as Don Mills (GArden), Agincourt (AXminster/CYpress), Islington (BElmont/CEdar), New Toronto (CLifford), Scarborough (AMherst, PLymouth), West Hill (ATlantic), Weston (CHerry, MElrose) and Willowdale (BAldwin/ACademy).[16] Exchange names were phased out in 1961–1966 in favour of plain seven-digit numbers.
The North American Numbering Plan (NANP) is a telephone numbering plan for twenty-five regions in twenty countries, primarily in North America and the Caribbean. This group is historically known as World Zone 1 and has the telephone country code 1. Some North American countries, most notably Mexico, do not participate with the NANP.
Area codes 905, 289, 365, and 742 are telephone area codes in the North American Numbering Plan (NANP) for the Golden Horseshoe region that surrounds Lake Ontario in Southern Ontario, Canada. The numbering plan area (NPA) comprises (clockwise) the Niagara Peninsula, the city of Hamilton, the regional municipalities of Halton, Peel, York, Durham, and parts of Northumberland County, but excludes the City of Toronto.
Area codes 613, 343, and 753 are telephone area codes in the North American Numbering Plan (NANP) for Ottawa and surrounding Eastern Ontario, Canada. Area code 613 is one of the 86 original North American area codes assigned in October 1947. Area code 343 was assigned to the numbering plan area in an overlay plan activated on May 17, 2010. Area code 753 was assigned as an additional overlay code for the numbering plan area, activated on March 26, 2022.
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In telecommunications, an area code overlay complex is a telephone numbering plan that assigns multiple area codes to the same geographic numbering plan area (NPA). Area code overlays are implemented in territories of the North American Numbering Plan (NANP) to mitigate exhaustion of central office codes in growth areas. The method has been in use since 1992, and has been the exclusive method of area code relief since 2007.
Seven-digit dialing is a telephone dialing procedure customary in some territories of the North American Numbering Plan (NANP) for dialing telephone numbers in the same numbering plan area (NPA). NANP telephone numbers consist of ten digits, of which the leading three are the area code. In seven-digit dialing it is not necessary to dial the area code. The procedure is also sometimes known as local format or network format.
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A telephone exchange name or central office name was a distinguishing and memorable name assigned to a central office. It identified the switching system to which a telephone was connected, and facilitated the connection of telephone calls between switching systems in different localities.
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Area codes 876 and 658 are telephone area codes in the North American Numbering Plan (NANP) for Jamaica.
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Area codes 778, 236, and 672 are telephone area codes in the North American Numbering Plan (NANP) for the Canadian province of British Columbia. They form an overlay complex with area code 604, which serves only a small southwestern section, the Lower Mainland, of the province, and area code 250, which serves the rest of the province.
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Area code 604 is a telephone area code in the North American Numbering Plan for southwestern British Columbia, Canada. The numbering plan area comprises the Lower Mainland, Sunshine Coast, Howe Sound / Sea to Sky Corridor, Fraser Valley and the lower Fraser Canyon regions. The major city is Vancouver. The area code is one of the nine original North American area codes assigned to Canada in 1947.
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The expansion of the North American Numbering Plan (NANP) is the anticipated requirement for providing more telephone numbers to accommodate future needs beyond the pool of ten-digit telephone numbers. Ten-digit telephone numbers have been in use in the United States and Canada in long-distance telephone service since the 1950s. An October 2020 analysis estimated that the numbering plan would not be exhausted until after 2050.
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