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May 10, 2023 11:16 am  #1


Call Display: Toronto Getting Yet Another New Area Code

This isn't about radio, but I'm always fascinated by this kind of stuff. And it does involve the CRTC.

The 416 area code is overloaded and has been for many years, and despite the presence of 647 and 437 (that last one I was barely even aware of) we still have too many phones and not enough numbers. So the CRTC has decided to add yet another three digits to the system. 

Get ready for 942, which will come into effect on April 26, 2025. (If we need a new area code so badly, why are they waiting almost two years?) 

Combine that with the nearby 905 and 289 and you may need a calculator to save everything in your phone in the coming years. 

In addition to all that, our friends out in B.C. will also be adding some new digits to dial - 257 - this one in May 2025. 

CRTC Announcement

 

May 10, 2023 12:01 pm  #2


Re: Call Display: Toronto Getting Yet Another New Area Code

Maybe it's time to rethink the whole concept of phone numbers.

When my wife and I moved from North York to Waterloo, we didn't "change" our phone numbers.  We each have a 647 number since we use our cellphones exclusively.  Nobody here bats an eyelash when they hear a phone number starting with 647.

The days when you the first three digits of your 7 digit phone number referred to a physical exchange are long gone.  Likewise with area codes.  You can be anywhere in the country and have a phone number in any area code you want.

 

Last edited by Peter the K (May 10, 2023 12:02 pm)

 

May 10, 2023 12:45 pm  #3


Re: Call Display: Toronto Getting Yet Another New Area Code

Some interesting area code history. There were originally 86 of them in North America in 1947. Ontario received two of them, 416 covering the south central and south western portions of the province. 613 covered the balance of Ontario. In 1953 519 was created for the southwest. in 1957, 705 was introduced for the area more commonly known as Cottage Country. In 1962, the northwestern portion received 807. Things stayed that way until the 905/416 split in 1993.

 

May 10, 2023 1:19 pm  #4


Re: Call Display: Toronto Getting Yet Another New Area Code

After decades I still remember the very first telephone number I ever had in the house I grew up in in Vancouver.
It was Regent 3-6134 -- in other words 73-6134.
My parents taught me the number when I was about six years old.
They told me to always answer the phone with, not "hello," but "This is Regent 3 6134."
of course no area code was necessary although Vancouver's main area code has been 604 for many years now. plus seven numbers.
In the Vancouver museum located in the HR McMillan planterium,there is a fascinating exhibit where you can pick up an old telephone receiver from the 1950s and dial a number from a telephone book the museum devised.
Each phone number is matched with a different aspect of Vancouver history in the form of a recording you listen to through the phone receiver.
What a great idea.


 

 

May 10, 2023 1:45 pm  #5


Re: Call Display: Toronto Getting Yet Another New Area Code

newsguy1 wrote:

After decades I still remember the very first telephone number I ever had in the house I grew up in in Vancouver.
It was Regent 3-6134 -- in other words 73-6134.
My parents taught me the number when I was about six years old.
They told me to always answer the phone with, not "hello," but "This is Regent 3 6134."
of course no area code was necessary although Vancouver's main area code has been 604 for many years now. plus seven numbers.
In the Vancouver museum located in the HR McMillan planterium,there is a fascinating exhibit where you can pick up an old telephone receiver from the 1950s and dial a number from a telephone book the museum devised.
Each phone number is matched with a different aspect of Vancouver history in the form of a recording you listen to through the phone receiver.
What a great idea.


 

 
My mom always told me never to give out the phone number to a caller, especially if they were calling the wrong number.  She said some nefarious people, when told they had dialed the wrong number, would ask what number they called. I was told to ask "what number are you calling?". Then I would confirm that they indeed did dialed the wrong number.

 

May 10, 2023 1:50 pm  #6


Re: Call Display: Toronto Getting Yet Another New Area Code

I might have grown up in a more innocent time.
And Vancouver was still pretty small townish in my childhood.
We could walk up to the milkman's truck and ask him if he could drop us off at at school.
 

 

May 10, 2023 1:52 pm  #7


Re: Call Display: Toronto Getting Yet Another New Area Code

newsguy1 wrote:

I might have grown up in a more innocent time.
And Vancouver was still pretty small townish in my childhood.
We could walk up to the milkman's truck and ask him if he could drop us off at at school.
 

 
I grew up in a small town in PEI.  Our phone number was only 4 digits. But Mom was always safety first.  It taught me well when I moved to the Big Smoke as a young, single woman.

 

May 10, 2023 2:39 pm  #8


Re: Call Display: Toronto Getting Yet Another New Area Code

newsguy1 wrote:

After decades I still remember the very first telephone number I ever had in the house I grew up in in Vancouver.
It was Regent 3-6134 -- in other words 73-6134.
 

I'm betting that your parents' phone number, likely in Burnaby, was RE3-6134 which translates to 733-6134 (now 604-733-6134). ;-)

The phone systems used the first TWO characters in the exchange 'word' (REgent in your case), not just the first.

 

 

May 10, 2023 2:47 pm  #9


Re: Call Display: Toronto Getting Yet Another New Area Code

Here's the list for Ontario. Have to say I wasn't familiar with 226, 249, 343 or 365. Looks like this list will need updating soon. (Nice to know I'm not the only one who geeks out on stuff like this.)

Ontario area codes

     Thread Starter
 

May 10, 2023 3:22 pm  #10


Re: Call Display: Toronto Getting Yet Another New Area Code

How old am I? When I was a kid living in a foster home in Stratford, Ontario my home phone number was 901. That's the entire number - 901  

Not sure why I remember that - and don't remember why I went into a particular room. 

Last edited by Marsden (May 10, 2023 3:23 pm)

 

May 10, 2023 3:48 pm  #11


Re: Call Display: Toronto Getting Yet Another New Area Code

About my childhood RE phone number, you are right RE stood for the first two numbers, 7-3.
I'm not sure why my mother told me to answer the phone with our phone number.
She was British so may that was a Brit thing.
But we definitely lived in Vancouver, not Burnaby.
In those days parents used to threaten that if their kids didn't behave they would be sent to Burnaby!
 

 

May 10, 2023 4:43 pm  #12


Re: Call Display: Toronto Getting Yet Another New Area Code

Marsden wrote:

How old am I? When I was a kid living in a foster home in Stratford, Ontario my home phone number was 901. That's the entire number - 901  

Not sure why I remember that - and don't remember why I went into a particular room. 

My parent's phone number when I was a kid in North York started with 781, but I remember it as RU (for Russell) 1. We also had a party line at one point, so you could never be sure you'd be able to call out when you needed it, because someone else might be using it. What a weird set-up that seems now. 

     Thread Starter
 

May 10, 2023 5:01 pm  #13


Re: Call Display: Toronto Getting Yet Another New Area Code

Marsden wrote:

Not sure why I remember that - and don't remember why I went into a particular room. 

As for going into a room and forgetting why, been there, done that.

At least I think I remember being there and doing that...

With apologies to Lorne's wonderful Oldies Music Board, where I stole this:

     Thread Starter
 

May 10, 2023 5:30 pm  #14


Re: Call Display: Toronto Getting Yet Another New Area Code

RadioActive wrote:

We also had a party line at one point, so you could never be sure you'd be able to call out when you needed it, because someone else might be using it. What a weird set-up that seems now. 

Then there were the old Bell phones WITHOUT touch-tone or even a rotary dial. They were usually installed in a business location to accept incoming calls only. However, it was actually very easy to dial out from these phones.

Anyone care to guess how?

 

May 10, 2023 5:31 pm  #15


Re: Call Display: Toronto Getting Yet Another New Area Code

newsguy1 wrote:

But we definitely lived in Vancouver, not Burnaby.
In those days parents used to threaten that if their kids didn't behave they would be sent to Burnaby!
 

Understood. Back in the dark mists of land-line time, local exchange phone numbers (such as REgent) were tied to a geographic area. If you moved too far out of that neighbourhood, you were required to get a new phone number associated with the exchange that was local to your new neighbourhood.

Now, however, you can move to a different province while maintaining not only your exchange number, but your area code as well, at least with mobile or VOIP phone lines.

By the way, the current holder of your parents' old number does indeed live in Burnaby, and is registered with Telus.

 

May 10, 2023 5:46 pm  #16


Re: Call Display: Toronto Getting Yet Another New Area Code

Dial Twister wrote:

Then there were the old Bell phones WITHOUT touch-tone or even a rotary dial. They were usually installed in a business location to accept incoming calls only. However, it was actually very easy to dial out from these phones.

Anyone care to guess how?

I'm guessing it's done by pressing the button on the hook the required number of times for each digit with a pause in between.
 

 

May 10, 2023 5:47 pm  #17


Re: Call Display: Toronto Getting Yet Another New Area Code

Peter the K wrote:

I'm guessing it's done by pressing the button on the hook the required number of times for each digit with a pause in between.
 

Winner, winner, chicken dinner!

Everyone remember that when you're held hostage in a room with a no-dial phone.
 

Last edited by Dial Twister (May 10, 2023 5:48 pm)

 

May 10, 2023 6:07 pm  #18


Re: Call Display: Toronto Getting Yet Another New Area Code

Dial Twister wrote:

Peter the K wrote:

I'm guessing it's done by pressing the button on the hook the required number of times for each digit with a pause in between.
 

Winner, winner, chicken dinner!

Everyone remember that when you're held hostage in a room with a no-dial phone.
 

You could actually use that technique to call out from touch-tone pay phones without paying through to the mid 90s

 

May 10, 2023 6:12 pm  #19


Re: Call Display: Toronto Getting Yet Another New Area Code

I did not know about the payphones.

Just jidging by the mechanical nature of old phones, that was actually a guess on my part.  I've never actually dialed a number this way but explains the old hollywood trope of tapping on the receiver to get the operator.

 

May 10, 2023 6:13 pm  #20


Re: Call Display: Toronto Getting Yet Another New Area Code

Reminds me that I still have a pager-sized device that generates touchtone sounds to enable you to interact with devices requiring those tones (answering machines, for example), even though you may be calling from an old rotary dial phone.

 

May 10, 2023 11:59 pm  #21


Re: Call Display: Toronto Getting Yet Another New Area Code

RadioActive wrote:

Marsden wrote:

Not sure why I remember that - and don't remember why I went into a particular room. 

As for going into a room and forgetting why, been there, done that.

At least I think I remember being there and doing that...

With apologies to Lorne's wonderful Oldies Music Board, where I stole this:

Truth be told - it's really embarrassing when the room I walked into is the bathroom. But wait I already had my shower....lol 
 

 

May 11, 2023 12:43 am  #22


Re: Call Display: Toronto Getting Yet Another New Area Code

RadioActive wrote:

With apologies to Lorne's wonderful Oldies Music Board, where I stole this:

Thanks for the shout-out for the Oldies Music Board ... as far as I'm concerned, it's one of the best things that's ever been posted there. What's really ironic is that not long after I saw your post, I went into my kitchen and then couldn't remember why I'd done so. I need to find a way of associating oldies song lyrics with various tasks in my life. 

 

May 11, 2023 2:09 am  #23


Re: Call Display: Toronto Getting Yet Another New Area Code

RadioActive wrote:

(If we need a new area code so badly, why are they waiting almost two years?) 

It is estimated that all the Bell payphones that are no longer in service in Toronto have numbers that are still good to max out.
The idea is to be ready, even if there are still some old former payphone numbers available for use.
Also, TTC Timeline schedule used to use up the whole 539 exchange. 
This meant that in the 416 area code, dialing 539, plus any 4 digits got you a bus stop number, telling you when the next bus would arrive at that location.  
When that went obsolete it freed up a whole 539 exchange in the 416 area code.
Some of those numbers are now FAX numbers, while many are still "number not in service". 
By 2025, it is estimated that there will not be any absent from use in some form...even though I argue that in 2025
there may also be a lot less people faxing....but who knows???

A classic photo of a TTC Timeline number on a TTC bus stop pole: 
Ironically, the number in the pic did not go to a fax machine. It is one of the many currently not in service...

Last edited by Radiowiz (May 11, 2023 2:22 am)


RadioWiz & RadioQuiz are NOT the same person. 
RadioWiz & THE Wiz are NOT the same person.

 
 

May 11, 2023 7:42 pm  #24


Re: Call Display: Toronto Getting Yet Another New Area Code

Peter the K wrote:

Maybe it's time to rethink the whole concept of phone numbers.

When my wife and I moved from North York to Waterloo, we didn't "change" our phone numbers.  We each have a 647 number since we use our cellphones exclusively.  Nobody here bats an eyelash when they hear a phone number starting with 647.

The days when you the first three digits of your 7 digit phone number referred to a physical exchange are long gone.  Likewise with area codes.  You can be anywhere in the country and have a phone number in any area code you want.

 

This reminds me, what happens when North America runs out of area codes?

I know one proposal has been to use 4-digit area codes, and append a “9” to the beginning of the existing 3-digit codes.

There’s also the matter of toll-free numbers, which seem to still be expanding in use.

 

May 11, 2023 7:47 pm  #25


Re: Call Display: Toronto Getting Yet Another New Area Code

Another reason for the continued expansion in the number of phone numbers is the use of call tracking in marketing. This has existed for many years but has exploded in use in the digital age. For example, ad agencies selling billboards or various online advertising solutions use special phone numbers to help track the number of calls originating from these campaigns, to help gauge success (or failure) of the campaign. The ad company I work for owns thousands  of these numbers, and virtually all of them are actually used. The idea is that you’re calling a local number that forwards to the business’s regular number.

Last edited by MJ Vancouver (May 11, 2023 7:48 pm)

 

May 12, 2023 3:27 am  #26


Re: Call Display: Toronto Getting Yet Another New Area Code

MJ Vancouver wrote:

There’s also the matter of toll-free numbers, which seem to still be expanding in use.

1-833 is now in use as the newly expanded toll free number system. 

 


RadioWiz & RadioQuiz are NOT the same person. 
RadioWiz & THE Wiz are NOT the same person.

 
 

May 12, 2023 5:19 am  #27


Re: Call Display: Toronto Getting Yet Another New Area Code

Explanation of Toronto exchanges

[url]https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Area_codes_416,_647,_and_437#:~:text=Toronto's%20original%20telephone%20exchanges%20were,dial%20telephones%20one%20year%20later.[/url]

 

May 12, 2023 7:31 am  #28


Re: Call Display: Toronto Getting Yet Another New Area Code

There is something in that URL that Boardhost doesn't like. So perhaps you can access it [url=https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Area_codes_416,_647,_and_437#:~:text=Toronto's%20original%20telephone%20exchanges%20were,dial%20telephones%20one%20year%20later.]at this link.[/url] 

     Thread Starter