Keys to History

More and More Phone Numbers

In the 1880s, there were so few subscribers that callers simply told the operator the name of the person they wished to speak to. In Montreal this personal system was replaced by telephone numbers in 1884. A few years later, callers had to give the name of the exchange as well as the number, for example Main 427.

Area codes became necessary with the growth of long-distance calling. In 1945 North America adopted the seven-digit standard for phone numbers and kept the three-digit area code. Up until the 1950s, phone numbers began with letters associated with the exchange names. A few years later, in 1960, Bell Canada replaced the letters with numbers.

During the 1990s, the growing number of telecommunications devices (fax machines, mobile phones, pagers) necessitated the adoption of 10-digit dialling in major Canadian urban areas. A Canadian first occurred in October 1993, when Toronto's 416 area code was split and a new 905 code assigned to the suburbs. A few years later, in 1998, it was Montreal's turn for a reorganization, as the 514 area code was joined by the 450. How long will it be before we each have a personal number to prevent running out of phone numbers?