New Brunswick is getting another area code

New Brunswick is in line to get a second area code that will meanresidents will have to dial 10 digits to make a local telephone call.

There are around 10 possible candidates for the new three-digit code. Those include 257, 428 and 942.

In 2010, a CRTC committee had set aside the code 428, but no decision has yet been made.

"What's happening today is just the beginning of the process," said Patricia Valladao on Tuesday.

Valladao is media relations manager with the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC).

"The market is growing, there is more need for new numbers. That's the reason why we're trying to address that before it actually happens."

Valladao says it will be a "couple of years" before the second code will be introduced.

The Canadian Numbering Administrator Consortium (CNAC) projects the 506 area code will be exhausted of numbers by February 2021.

The CNAC facilitates the discussions around the relief area codes being proposed.

CNAC project manager Glen Brown says the relief planning committee is made up of cell phone carriers, with input from alarm companies and any members of the public who wish to get involved.

No date has yet been set for the committee meetings.

Deciding a code

Various factors come into play when assigning a new area code.

1. Canadian codes

Canada can only chose from the area codes assigned to this country by the North American Numbering Plan Association (NANPA).

There are more than 20 future area codes currently assigned to Canada.

2.Avoiding confusion

A relief code of 942 was initially proposed for Nova Scotia and PEI. But it was thought to be too close to the existing 902 code, so 782 was chosen instead.

Area codes that are the same as the first three digits of existing seven-digit numbers are also avoided.

For example, were 453 available, it would not be considered as an area code for New Brunswick, because of the existence of phone numbers of the format 506-453-XXXX.

3. Cultural considerations

Nowhere in the NANPA region has been assigned the area code 666,a number often association with the devil.

"You could have some sort of ethnic requirement in a given area," said Brown.

"That they look at a particular number - it may have a meaning or significance to that community. Like a bad meaning, so they don't want it."

4.Technical reasons

Cellphone networks may have technical reasons why certain three-digit numbers can not be considered in certain areas.

"One of the phone companies could come forward and say 'if we put that in I can't implement that in this area,'" said Brown.

Ultimately, the committee will make a recommendation and the CRTC will approve or reject the proposal.

We're number 1!

North America is one of the few world regions where each country does not have its own unique country code.

Canada is among the20 North American countries that share the country code of "1".

In 1947, AT&T assigned 86 area codes; ninein Canada, and 77 in the continental United States.

All of Atlantic Canada was initially part of area code 902.

In 1955, New Brunswick and Newfoundland and Labrador were both assigned 506.

Seven years later, Newfoundland and Labrador was assigned 709 as its own code.