Will include 705 area code
OTTAWA – While it may take years to be fully implemented, two additional area codes will be established in Ontario this year, one for the area code 705, and area code 249.
“The new area codes will be introduced this year for new telephone numbers when there is no further availability for the current area codes,” Lucie Papineau Pugliese, of Sympatico, told The Expositor last week.
“It may take years for full establishment of the new area codes,” said Ms. Pugliese, who pointed out “The current area codes already in place, like 705 on Manitoulin are safe and they will continue. The only time the new area codes will come into play is when there is no further availability in the 705 area.”
“It may take years for the new area codes to be fully established,” Ms. Pugliese reiterated.
The two additional area codes will be introduced in Ontario this year. The new 753 area code will be introduced starting March 26 in the regions currently served by area codes 343 and 613. The new 683 area code will be introduced starting June 18 in the regions currently served by area codes 249 and 705. The introduction of these new area codes is the result of decisions by the Canadian-Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) and are intended to meet the continuously growing demand for new telephone numbers.
“The introduction of a new area code creates millions of additional telephone numbers without affecting the existing numbers,” said Kelly T. Walsh, program manager of the Canadian Numbering Administration. “The new area codes will be added where the current area codes are already in use in the affected regions in Ontario.”
Once the new area codes, 753 and 683, are introduced in March and June 2022, residents and businesses requesting a new phone number may receive one with the new area code. Numbers with the new area code will only be assigned once there is no longer a sufficient supply of numbers within the existing area codes.
The introduction of a new area code in a region does not affect the geographic boundaries for local calling areas or the way long distance calls are dialed. Special numbers such as 211, 311, 411, 611 and 911 will not be affected and will still be dialed using only three digits.
Ms. Pugliese told The Expositor, “The new area codes will have the same rate (cost structure). If you have an area code of 705 or get an area code of 683 for a new number, it will be the same rate.”
The 613 area code was introduced in 1947 and the 705 area code was created in 1957. Over the years, increasing demand for telephone numbers, particularly for wireless services, created a need for additional numbers to serve customers in the province. In response to this increasing demand, the area code 343 was added in 2010 to serve the regions covered by area code 613 and the area code 249 was introduced in 2011 to serve the regions covered by the area code 705.
