Area code 403

Area code 403 is a telephone area code in the North American Numbering Plan (NANP) for the Canadian province of Alberta. The numbering plan area encompasses the southern third of the province, which includes the Calgary area.

Area codes in Alberta after April 9, 2016

Area code 403 was one of the original eighty-six area codes assigned by AT&T in 1947. Its numbering plan area (NPA) originally comprised the entire province of Alberta, the Yukon, and the western half of the Northwest Territories. It was the second-largest numbering plan area in the North American Numbering Plan, spanning more than one-ninth of the circumference of the planet from the 49th parallel north to the North Pole. On October 3, 1997, the numbering plan area was reduced to Alberta, when the territories were split off with new area code 867.

Within only a year, 403 was threatened by exhaustion due to rapid growth of telecommunication services demand for pagers, cell phones, and computer modems, and growing competition among providers. Every local exchange carrier is allocated entire blocks of 10,000 numbers corresponding to a single three-digit central office prefix for every rate centre where they plan to offer service, even for the smallest hamlets. While most rate centres do not need nearly that many numbers, it is not possible move numbers from one rate centre to another. This resulted in many unused numbers.

On January 25, 1999, the northern two-thirds of Alberta, including Edmonton, was split from 403 and assigned the new area code 780. Generally, everything from Red Deer, Lacombe and Ponoka southward stayed in 403. Permissive dialing of 403 continued across the province until May 18, 1999.

This was intended as a long-term solution, but within a decade 403 was close to exhaustion once again. To solve the problem, it was decided to implement area code 587 as a province-wide overlay. Optional provincewide 10-digit dialing began on June 23, 2008, and became mandatory on September 12, 2008.[1] On September 20, 2008, Telus Mobility began assigning 587 numbers to new customers in Calgary and Edmonton.

The incumbent local exchange carrier (LEC) in 403 is Telus; prior to 1997, the larger 403 included EdTel (Edmonton Telephones, now part of Telus) and Northwestel as incumbent LECs. Prior to 1990, Telus was known as Alberta Government Telephones, and was a department of the provincial government.[2]

Service area and central office codes
  • Calgary (403)-200 201 202 203 204 205 206 207 208 209 210 212 213 214 215 216 217 218 219 220 221 225 226 228 229 230 231 232 233 234 235 236 237 238 239 240 241 242 243 244 245 246 247 248 249 250 251 252 253 254 255 256 257 258 259 260 261 262 263 264 265 266 267 268 269 270 271 272 273 274 275 276 277 278 279 280 281 282 283 284 285 286 287 288 289 290 291 292 293 294 295 296 297 298 299 300 301 303 305 312 313 319 333 338 351 354 355 365 366 367 369 370 371 374 375 383 384 385 386 387 389 390 397 398 399 400 401 402 404 407 408 410 428 437 440 441 444 450 451 452 453 454 455 456 457 461 462 463 464 465 466 467 470 471 472 473 474 475 476 477 478 479 481 483 487 500 503 508 509 510 512 513 514 515 516 517 519 520 521 523 530 531 532 535 536 537 538 539 540 541 542 543 547 554 560 561 567 568 569 570 571 585 589 590 592 604 605 606 607 608 612 613 614 615 616 617 618 619 620 629 630 640 645 648 650 651 656 660 661 662 663 667 668 669 670 671 680 681 685 686 689 690 691 692 693 695 696 697 698 699 700 701 702 703 705 708 710 714 716 717 718 719 720 723 724 726 727 730 731 735 736 744 747 750 764 765 766 767 769 770 771 774 775 776 777 781 796 798 799 800 801 802 803 804 805 806 807 808 809 813 815 816 817 818 819 826 827 828 829 830 831 835 836 837 850 852 860 861 862 863 869 870 873 874 875 879 880 888 889 890 891 899 906 909 910 918 919 920 921 922 923 926 927 931 943 944 955 956 966 968 969 970 971 973 974 975 978 984 987 988 990 991 992 993 997 998 999
  • Acme (403)-546
  • Airdrie (403)-316 420 768 912 945 948 960 980
  • Banff (403)-431 497 760 762 763 778 951 985 996
  • Beiseker (403)-947
  • Black Diamond (403)-933
  • Blackfalds (403)-600 885
  • Brooks (403)-362 363 376 409 427 501 633 793 794 925
  • Canmore (403)-493 609 621 675 678 679 688 707 812 953 961
  • Cardston (403)-653 659
  • Carstairs (403)-337 940
  • Castor (403)-882
  • Cereal (403)-326
  • Claresholm (403)-468 489 490 625 682 706
  • Coaldale (403)-345 405
  • Cochrane (403)-709 840 851 855 907 932 981
  • Cremona (403)-637
  • Crossfield (403)-941 946
  • Crowsnest Pass (403)-372 459 562 563 564 582 583 623
  • Didsbury (403)-335 439 518
  • Drumheller (403)-321 334 436 494 820 821 823 856
  • East Coulee (403)-822
  • Eckville (403)-746
  • High River (403)-336 422 469 498 601 602 603 649 652 841 908
  • Innisfail (403)-227
  • Irricana (403)-935
  • Irvine (403)-834
  • Kananaskis Improvement District (403)-591
  • Lacombe (403)-782 786 789
  • Lake Louise (403)-434 522
  • Langdon (403)-936 954
  • Leslieville (403)-729
  • Lethbridge (403)-308 315 317 320 327 328 329 330 331 332 353 359 360 380 381 382 388 393 394 524 593 634 635 694 715 795 849 892 894 915 929 942
  • Longview (403)-558
  • Medicine Hat (403)-458 487 488 502 504 525 526 527 528 529 548 580 581 594 712 866 878 905 926 928 952 957 977 979
  • Morley (403)-881
  • Okotoks (403)-306 842 917 938 939 982 995
  • Olds (403)-415 438 507 556 559 586 672 791 994
  • Pincher Creek (403)-339 432 484 624 627 632 683
  • Ponoka (403)-704 783 785 790 913 963
  • Red Deer (403)-302 304 307 309 314 318 340 341 342 343 346 347 348 349 350 352 356 357 358 373 391 392 396 406 505 506 550 588 596 597 598 713 754 755 848 872 877 896 967 986
  • Rocky Mountain House (403)-322 418 429 844 845 846 847 871 895
  • Stettler (403)-323 430 740 741 742 743 916
  • Strathmore (403)-324 325 361 480 499 814 901 902 934 962 983
  • Sylvan Lake (403)-858 864 887
  • Taber (403)-223 416
  • Three Hills (403)-443
  • Turner Valley (403)-933

Relief Planning

The projected exhaust date for Area Code 403 was March 2009. For more information see the Canadian Numbering Administrator Website. Two area codes, 587 and 825, have been reserved[3] and the first one, 587, was introduced in September 2008.[4] The 403 area code, simultaneously with area code 780, will be overlaid with the new area code, which will cover the entire province.

See also

References
  1. "Let your fingers do the 10-digit walking". CBC News. 2008-06-23.
  2. http://www.abheritage.ca/telephone/era/agt.html
  3. "Telecom Decision CRTC 2007-42". Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission. 2007-06-14. Archived from the original on December 16, 2007. Retrieved 2007-06-14.
  4. "New dialing to come in Alberta". Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission. 2007-06-14. Archived from the original on 18 June 2007. Retrieved 2007-06-18.
Alberta area codes: 403, 587/825, 780
North: 780/587
West: 250/778/236/672 403 (overlaid with 587 and 825) East: 306/639
South: 406
British Columbia area codes: 236/672/778, 250, 604
Saskatchewan area codes: 306, 639
Montana area codes: 406

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