Area code 250 is a telephone

area code A telephone numbering plan is a type of numbering scheme used in telecommunication to assign telephone numbers to subscriber telephones or other telephony endpoints. Telephone numbers are the addresses of participants in a telephone network, rea ...

in the North American Numbering Plan (NANP) for the

Canadian province Within the geographical areas of Canada, the ten provinces and three territories are sub-national administrative divisions under the jurisdiction of the Canadian Constitution. In the 1867 Canadian Confederation, three provinces of British North ...

of British Columbia outside the

Lower Mainland The Lower Mainland is a geographic and cultural region of the mainland coast of British Columbia that generally comprises the regional districts of Metro Vancouver and Fraser Valley. Home to approximately 3.05million people as of the 2021 Canadia ...

, including Vancouver Island–home to the provincial capital, Victoria–and the province's

Interior region Interior may refer to: Arts and media * ''Interior'' (Degas) (also known as ''The Rape''), painting by Edgar Degas * ''Interior'' (play), 1895 play by Belgian playwright Maurice Maeterlinck * ''The Interior'' (novel), by Lisa See * Interior d ...

. In addition, the numbering plan area extends into the United States community of Hyder, Alaska, located along the

Canada–United States border The border between Canada and the United States is the longest international border in the world. The terrestrial boundary (including boundaries in the Great Lakes, Atlantic, and Pacific coasts) is long. The land border has two sections: Can ...

near the town of Stewart. The incumbent local exchange carriers that service the area code are Telus, Northwestel, and CityWest in the city of

Prince Rupert Prince Rupert of the Rhine, Duke of Cumberland, (17 December 1619 (O.S.) / 27 December (N.S.) – 29 November 1682 (O.S.)) was an English army officer, admiral, scientist and colonial governor. He first came to prominence as a Royalist cavalr ...

History

Area code 250 was created on October 19, 1996, as a split of area code 604, which was retained by the Lower Mainland. Prior to 1996, 604 had been the sole area code in British Columbia for almost half a century. British Columbia would have likely needed another area code in any event because of the province's growth in the second half of the 20th century, but the split was hastened by Canada's system of number allocation. Canada does not use number pooling as a relief measure. Instead, each

competitive local exchange carrier A competitive local exchange carrier (CLEC), in the United States and Canada, is a telecommunications provider company (sometimes called a " carrier") competing with other, already established carriers, generally the incumbent local exchange carrie ...

is allocated blocks of 10,000 numbers (corresponding to a single prefix) in each rate centre in which it plans to offer service, even in the smallest hamlets. Once a prefix is assigned to a carrier and rate centre, it cannot be moved elsewhere even if a rate centre has more than enough numbers to serve its customers. That has resulted in thousands of wasted numbers, a problem that has been exacerbated by the proliferation of fax machines and pagers and then of cell phones. By the middle of the first decade of the 2000s, 250 was already on the verge of exhaustion, again because of the number allocation problem and the continued proliferation of cell phones, particularly on Vancouver Island and in the larger cities of the interior. Amid projections that 250 would be exhausted by January 2008, the

Canadian Radio-Television and Telecommunications Commission The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC; french: Conseil de la radiodiffusion et des télécommunications canadiennes, links=) is a public organization in Canada with mandate as a regulatory agency for broadcasti ...

began considering relief options in early 2007. Proposals included: * a geographic split that would have left 250 with the interior and switched Vancouver Island to a new area code * expanding area code 778, previously a concentrated overlay for Metro Vancouver and the Fraser Valley, to the 250 territory * concentrated overlays covering part of the 250 territory Several of the major landline and wireless providers in the 250 territory strongly favoured an overlay and stated that it would be easier to implement than a split. They also wanted to spare themselves and their customers the expense and burden of changing their numbers, which would have required a massive reprogramming of cell phones. The proposal for a split would have forced Vancouver Island's residents to change their numbers for a second time in a decade. The CRTC announced on June 7, 2007 that 778 would be expanded to become an overlay for the entire province starting that July 4. On that date, exchanges in 778 became available to Vancouver Island and interior residents, and a

permissive dialling In North America, permissive dialing is the ability to make phone calls in an area subject to a newly introduced area code by using both the new and preexisting dialing methods. When an area is given a new area code under a split plan, the area's ...

period began across British Columbia during which it was possible to make local calls with either seven or ten digits. Three CO prefixes in the 250 area code were reserved for use by Northwestel, as 13 of its 15 switches could not then handle multiple area codes, and its system could not accommodate ten-digit-dialling. The CRTC decided on an overlay after concluding that there was not enough time to implement a split before 250 was due to exhaust in January 2008. Effective June 23, 2008, ten-digit dialling became mandatory throughout the entire province, and attempts to make a seven-digit call triggered an intercept message with a reminder of the new rule. After September 12, 2008, seven-digit dialling no longer functioned. Overlays have become the preferred method of area code relief in Canada, as they are an easy workaround for the number allocation problem, as opposed to a split plan. On June 1, 2013, area code 236 was implemented as a distributed overlay of area codes 250, 604, and 778 and was expected to be exhausted by May 2020. As a result, area code 672 was implemented on May 4, 2019, as an additional distributed overlay to relieve area codes 250, 604, 778, and 236.

Service area and central office codes

100 Mile House 100 Mile House is a district municipality located in the South Cariboo region of central British Columbia, Canada. History 100 Mile House was originally known as Bridge Creek House, named after the creek running through the area. Its origins ...

: 395 456 593 396 706 * Armstrong: 546 *

Beaverdell Beaverdell is an unincorporated settlement in the Monashee Country of the Southern Interior of British Columbia, Canada, which lies to the east of the Okanagan Valley and north of the Boundary Country region. Beaverdell is located midway along ...

: 484 * Bella Bella: 957 * Bridge River Valley, including Bralorne,

Brexton Brexton, formerly known as Fish Lake, is a ghost town located in the Bridge River Country region of British Columbia. Although the provincial ''Gazetteer'' still lists the "settlement" of Brexton, which was situated between the southeast end of Gu ...

, Gold Bridge, and Gun Lake: 238 * Campbell River: 201 202 203 204 205 286 287 346 504 830 850 895 923 * Castlegar: 304 365 608 687 * Chetwynd: 788 * Christina Lake: 447 * Cranbrook: 417 420 421 426 450 464 489 581 919 * Creston: 254 402 428 431 435 977 * Comox: 339 890 941 * Courtenay: 207 218 331 334 338 465 585 650 702 703 792 871 897 898 * The Cowichan Valley comprises the following local rate centres: ** Chemainus: 210 246 324 416 436 533 606 ** Cobble Hill: 733 743 929 **

Duncan Duncan may refer to: People * Duncan (given name), various people * Duncan (surname), various people * Clan Duncan * Justice Duncan (disambiguation) Places * Duncan Creek (disambiguation) * Duncan River (disambiguation) * Duncan Lake (d ...

: 252 466 510 597 701 709 710 715 732 737 746 748 815 856 **

Ladysmith Ladysmith may refer to: * Ladysmith, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa * Ladysmith, British Columbia, Canada * Ladysmith, Wisconsin, United States * Ladysmith, New South Wales, Australia * Ladysmith, Virginia, United States * Ladysmith Island, Queensl ...

: 245 912 924 ** Lake Cowichan: 749 932 **

Youbou The Cavalla River (also known as the Cavally, the Youbou and the Diougou) is a river in West Africa running from north of Mont Nimba in Guinea, through Côte d'Ivoire, to Zwedru in Liberia, and back to the border with Côte d'Ivoire. It ends i ...

: 745 *

Cumberland Cumberland ( ) is a historic county in the far North West England. It covers part of the Lake District as well as the north Pennines and Solway Firth coast. Cumberland had an administrative function from the 12th century until 1974. From 19 ...

: 336 * Dawson Creek: 219 467 719 782 784 795 806 854 * Elkford: 865 * Enderby: 838 * Fernie: 278 430 946 *

Fort Nelson Fort Nelson may refer to: Canada *Fort Nelson, British Columbia, a town *Fort Nelson River, British Columbia * Fort Nelson (Manitoba) (1670–1713), an early fur trading post at the mouth of the Nelson River and the first headquarters of the Hudson ...

: 774 * Fort St. James: 996 * Fort St. John: 224 261 262 263 264 271 329 663 785 787 793 794 * Gold River: 283 * Golden: 344 439 272 *

Grand Forks Grand Forks is the third-largest city in the state of North Dakota (after Fargo and Bismarck) and the county seat of Grand Forks County. According to the 2020 census, the city's population was 59,166. Grand Forks, along with its twin city o ...

: 442 443 584 666 *

Greenwood Green wood is unseasoned wood. Greenwood or Green wood may also refer to: People * Greenwood (surname) Settlements Australia * Greenwood, Queensland, a locality in the Toowoomba Region * Greenwood, Western Australia, a suburb of Perth C ...

: 445 * Gulf Islands, including Galiano Island, Mayne Island, and Saturna Island: 222 539 * Hazelton: 842 * Hixon: 998 * Houston: 845 * Hudson's Hope: 783 903 * Hyder, Alaska: 234 636 * Invermere: 270 341 342 409 688 *

Kamloops Kamloops ( ) is a city in south-central British Columbia, Canada, at the confluence of the South flowing North Thompson River and the West flowing Thompson River, east of Kamloops Lake. It is located in the Thompson-Nicola Regional District, w ...

: 214 299 312 314 318 319 320 371 372 374 376 377 434 461 554 571 572 573 574 576 578 579 682 705 819 828 851 852 879 ** Surrounding communities: ** Chase: 679 ** Barriere: 672 ** Clearwater: 674 ** Cache Creek: 313 457 ** Logan Lake: 523 **

Savona Savona (; lij, Sann-a ) is a seaport and ''comune'' in the west part of the northern Italy, Italian region of Liguria, capital of the Province of Savona, in the Riviera di Ponente on the Mediterranean Sea. Savona used to be one of the chie ...

: 373 * Kaslo: 353 943 *

Kelowna Kelowna ( ) is a city on Okanagan Lake in the Okanagan Valley in the southern interior of British Columbia, Canada. It serves as the head office of the Regional District of Central Okanagan. The name Kelowna derives from the Okanagan word ''ki� ...

: 212 215 258 300 317 322 448 450 451 452 454 469 470 491 575 681 712 717 718 762 763 764 765 769 801 807 808 826 859 860 861 862 863 864 868 869 870 872 878 899 979 980 ** Surrounding communities: ** Oyama: 548 ** Peachland: 767 ** West Kelowna: 700 707 768 **

Winfield Winfield may refer to: Places Canada * Winfield, Alberta * Winfield, British Columbia United States * Winfield, Alabama * Winfield, Arkansas * Winfield, Georgia * Winfield, Illinois * Winfield, Indiana * Winfield, Iowa * Winfield, Kansas * Winfi ...

: 766 *

Kimberley Kimberly or Kimberley may refer to: Places and historical events Australia * Kimberley (Western Australia) ** Roman Catholic Diocese of Kimberley * Kimberley Warm Springs, Tasmania * Kimberley, Tasmania a small town * County of Kimberley, a ...

: 427 432 520 602 908 * Kitimat: 632 639 *

Kitwanga Kitwanga or Gitwangak or Gitwangax ("people of the place of rabbits" in the Gitxsan language) is located where the Kitwanga River runs into the Skeena River in British Columbia. A long-standing village before contact, the village is within ...

: 849 * Rural Kootenays: 229 357 399 424 429 529 603 829 * Lillooet: 256 * Lytton: 455 * Mackenzie: 997 * Merritt: 280 315 378 525 936 * Midway: 449 528 605 *

Nakusp The Village of Nakusp (Sinixt ''neqo'sp'') is beside the mouth of Kuskanax Creek, on the Upper Arrow Lake in the West Kootenay region of southeastern British Columbia. Lying between the Selkirk and Monashee ranges, the village is known for its ...

: 265 *

Nanaimo Nanaimo ( ) is a city on the east coast of Vancouver Island, in British Columbia, Canada. As of the Canada 2021 Census, 2021 census, it had a population of 99,863, and it is known as "The Harbour City." The city was previously known as the "H ...

is divided into the following local rate centres: ** Cedar: 323 722 ** Lantzville: 390 933 **

: 244 255 268 327 518 585 591 616 618 619 667 668 713 714 716 734 739 740 741 753 754 755 762 796 797 802 816 824 ** Wellington: 729 751 756 758 760 * Nanoose Bay: 468 * Nelson: 352 354 505 509 551 777 825 * Oliver: 485 498 * Osoyoos: 495 * Parksville: 228 240 248 586 607 905 927 937 947 951 954 * Pender Island: 629 * Penticton: 274 276 328 460 462 482 486 487 488 490 492 493 770 809 817 *

Port Alberni Port Alberni () is a city located on Vancouver Island in the province of British Columbia, Canada. The city lies within the Alberni Valley at the head of the Alberni Inlet, Vancouver Island's longest inlet. It is the location of the head offices o ...

: 206 419 720 723 724 730 731 735 736 913 918 * Port Hardy: 230 902 949 * Port McNeill: 956 *

Prince George Prince George may refer to: People British princes * George Plantagenet, Duke of Clarence (1449-1478), middle brother of Edward IV and Richard III. * Prince George Augustus, later George II of Great Britain (1683–1760) * Prince George Will ...

: 277 301 552 561 562 563 564 565 596 612 613 614 617 640 645 649 906 960 961 962 963 964 970 981 *

: 624 627 * Qualicum Beach: 752 * Quesnel: 255 316 925 983 985 991 992 747 249 * Revelstoke: 814 837 *

Rossland Rossland may refer to: Places *Rossland, British Columbia, British Columbia, Canada **Rossland City, provincial electoral district around Rossland, British Columbia (1903–1912) ** Rossland (electoral district), provincial electoral district aroun ...

: 362 * Saanich: 544 654 655 657 665 669 * Salmon Arm: 489 515 803 804 832 833 * Salt Spring Island: 537 538 653 *

Sidney Sidney may refer to: People * Sidney (surname), English surname * Sidney (given name), including a list of people with the given name * Sidney (footballer, born 1972), full name Sidney da Silva Souza, Brazilian football defensive midfielder * ...

: 652 656 * Slocan Valley: 355 358 359 226 * Smithers: 847 877 917 * Sooke: 642 664 867 **

Jordan River The Jordan River or River Jordan ( ar, نَهْر الْأُرْدُنّ, ''Nahr al-ʾUrdunn'', he, נְהַר הַיַּרְדֵּן, ''Nəhar hayYardēn''; syc, ܢܗܪܐ ܕܝܘܪܕܢܢ ''Nahrāʾ Yurdnan''), also known as ''Nahr Al-Shariea ...

: 646 ** Port Renfrew: 647 * Sparwood: 425 910 * Stewart: 636 * Summerland: 404 494 * Terrace: 615 631 635 638 641 892 922 975 * Tofino: 522 725 * Trail: 231 364 368 512 521 693 921 ** Fruitvale: 367 * Tumbler Ridge: 242 * Ucluelet: 266 726 * Union Bay, including

Fanny Bay Fanny Bay is a small hamlet in the Canadian province of British Columbia. It is located on Baynes Sound on the east coast of Vancouver Island. In 2001, its population was listed as 815. It is best known for its fine oysters. The area is serve ...

, Denman Island, and Hornby Island: 335 * Valemount: 566 * Vanderhoof,: 524 567 570 944 * Vernon: 241 260 275 306 307 308 309 351 503 540 541 542 543 545 549 550 558 907 938 * Victoria: 208 213 216 217 220 294 298 310 356 360 361 363 370 380 381 382 383 384 385 386 387 388 389 391 405 410 412 413 414 415 418 419 472 474 475 477 478 479 480 483 507 508 514 516 519 532 536 580 588 589 590 592 595 598 634 658 661 686 704 708 721 727 744 800 812 813 818 823 853 857 858 880 881 882 883 884 885 886 888 889 891 893 896 915 920 940 952 953 978 984 995 999 *

Wells Wells most commonly refers to: * Wells, Somerset, a cathedral city in Somerset, England * Well, an excavation or structure created in the ground * Wells (name) Wells may also refer to: Places Canada * Wells, British Columbia England * Wel ...

: 994 * Williams Lake: 267 302 303 305 392 398 855 *

Wynndel Wynndel is an unincorporated community adjacent to Duck Creek, east of the Kootenay River, in the West Kootenay region of southeastern British Columbia. The locality, on BC Highway 3A, is by road about north of Creston and southeast of Nelso ...

: 866 * Zeballos: 761

References

Bibliography

* *

External links

CNA exchange list for area +1-250

Telecom archives

Area Code 250 with NXX 310 is not a valid NXX
{{coord, 54, 0, 0, N, 124, 0, 0, W, region:CA-BC_scale:7500000, display=title Telecommunications-related introductions in 1996

250 __NOTOC__ Year 250 ( CCL) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Traianus and Gratus (or, less frequently, year 1003 ''Ab u ...

Communications in British Columbia

History

Service area and central office codes

See also

References

Bibliography

External links