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416 area code envy

James

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This Toronto Star article today made me chuckle. Most people still certainly associate Toronto with 416 but most people I know have no issues with 647 area codes. This article makes it seem as though there's a huge 416 snobbery thing going on here. 416 envy, anyone? What do you all think?

http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/201...odes_selling_for_hundreds_even_thousands.html

Toronto’s 416 area codes selling for hundreds, even thousands
Landing the city’s oldest area code is usually the luck of the draw, but some businesses are willing to spend big to contribute to an image of reliability.

Business people in Toronto, like real estate agent Reza Esmaeili, are spending big on 416 numbers to capitalize on the air of establishment that is synonymous with the coveted area code. Esmaeili bought his phone number for $500.

By: Laura Armstrong Staff Reporter, Published on Wed Jul 23 2014

Opportunity’s calling, 416ers: Those three digits at the beginning of your phone number could make for a lucrative pay day.

Toronto’s most coveted area code is becoming a business in the city, with 10-digit 416 numbers selling for hundreds — even thousands — of dollars.

“All my advertisements are in the Yonge and Finch area, and in the North York papers, so 416 targets my clientele,†says Reza Esmaeili, a local residential and commercial real estate broker with Homelife/Victory Realty, who purchased his current phone number, 416-888-SOLD, for $500.

The 416 tells his customers he’s established, Esmaeili adds.

Launched in 1947, 416 is Toronto’s oldest area code. The Canadian Radio-television Telecommunications Commission has since introduced area codes 647 and 437, but born-and-bred Torontonians argue the city remains synonymous with 416.

Esmaeili dreamed up multiple real estate-themed phone numbers, called his desired lines and told the strangers on the other end that if they wanted to sell, he was ready to buy.

The person who once held Esmaeili’s current number was happy to make some money, the broker said. He had no trouble transferring ownership of the number to his name through his carrier, Fido.

“It was not a real estate agent, fortunately — it was just a regular person. They were more than happy. They said, ‘OK, I sell it for $500, I get another one for free.’ â€

Toronto is not the first city where residents yearn for a traditional area code. When New York swelled and the 212 area code designated for Manhattan dried up, the introduction of the new 646 area code caused such a stir that a spring 1998 episode of Seinfeld chronicled a New Yorker’s dismay when Elaine was designated a new code.

Being perceived as established is a common desire among customers looking to buy 416 numbers, said Georgios Pappas, a phone number vendor behind websites like vip416numbers.com and 416numbers.com END.

“They feel that a 647 number makes them feel like they’re not established. Let’s say you need a lawyer. If you call a 647 number, how credible is that lawyer, how many years has he been in business for?â€

Pappas searches for creative 416 numbers through various carriers in the city. Once he is assigned a number, he makes the minimum payments on the account each month until someone buys the number from him. He then transfers responsibility of the account to the new owner.

Pappas charges a minimum of $99, but has previously sold the 10 digits for as much as $2,000.
Danyal Javaid is a managing partner with IMARK Development group, a local real estate developer, who has bought seven or eight 416 numbers through Pappas. All the numbers he has purchased end with the four digits 1000, an attempt to streamline his employees’ phone and fax numbers.

Javaid has never had any issues with the numbers from Pappas, and is looking to buy up to eight more from the local vendor.

Glen Brown, project manager with the Canadian Numbering Association, deals with assigning phone numbers to carriers. He said the association no longer hands out 416 numbers to Toronto carriers.

There are, however, 2,010,000 647 numbers left to be assigned to the 13-year-old area code; 437 has only been assigned to 260,000 people since its inception in March 2013.

“It’s conceivable you could get a 416 number; it’s probably difficult,†he says. “It would be almost like old currency; it’s theoretically possible to pick up an old nickel or dime or quarter in your change, but the likelihood is greatly diminished.â€

A carrier new to Toronto today could not offer 416 numbers to customers, Brown said. The last large batch of 416 numbers was assigned to Toronto carriers in 2006.

Telus spokesperson Chris Gerritsen said 416 numbers only become available to customers today if they are being reassigned.

“People don’t give up their numbers as often as they used to because of porting.â€

Customers do call and request a 416 number but short of paying hundreds or thousands of dollars for the elusive area code, Gerritsen said landing a 416 number is now luck of the draw.

“It’s what we have that comes available. I somebody calls in and asks for a 416 number, we’ll do our best to accommodate but can make no guarantees.â€
 
I will keep my 416 cell phone number as long as I breathe and live on this Earth lol... It contains only 4 numbers, simple, and easy to remember. If I sold it, it would be for a lot of money.

Had a few people call me in the past asking me to sell my number for $500 - you'll have to do better than that.. haha
 
I will keep my 416 cell phone number as long as I breathe and live on this Earth lol... It contains only 4 numbers, simple, and easy to remember. If I sold it, it would be for a lot of money.

Had a few people call me in the past asking me to sell my number for $500 - you'll have to do better than that.. haha

Haha, even though I'm amazed by the demand for the 416 area code, I can see it being a bit of a "gotta have it" type thing. I've had my current 416 cel phone number since 2007 and, since it's both my personal and business number, I have no intention of giving it up either.

In a "what would you do" situation, if someone offered me money for it...meh, I still probably wouldn't sell it.

As a corollary, the question of the day would be "How much money would it take for you to give up your 416 number?" ;)
 
Back in March, 2013, the new area code 437 was added to the 416 & 647 group. One could ask to use the same last four numbers, so the whole family could use some familiarity. If very lucky, the same last seven numbers, with different area codes.

The 905 & 289 area codes also welcomed 365 as their third option.
 
I have 416-987-6543 if anyone is interested (counting backwards from 9)...lol...but you're going to get a lot of wrong numbers, faxes, robocalls, telemarketers calling you looking for someone else, collection agencies, people calling you because they supposedly "missed" your number because some offshore telemarketer is selling duct cleaning and masking their number as yours, people calling chicks they picked up at a bar...lol
 
Back in March, 2013, the new area code 437 was added to the 416 & 647 group. One could ask to use the same last four numbers, so the whole family could use some familiarity. If very lucky, the same last seven numbers, with different area codes.

The 905 & 289 area codes also welcomed 365 as their third option.

I never seen 365. That's a cool number. Like 365 days a year, in non-leap years. And it kinda related to 905: (6+3)05.
 
I never seen 365. That's a cool number. Like 365 days a year, in non-leap years. And it kinda related to 905: (6+3)05.

If you have a land line like 416-abc-defg, you may be lucky and ask for either 647-abc-defg or 437-abc-defg for your cell phone.

In addition, if you buy and set-up your cell phone in the 905, you maybe eligible to get a 905-abc-defg, 289-abc-defg, or 365-abc-defg. Depends upon the salesperson. Your whole family could end up with the same last seven digits.
 
Everyone: I fully understand Torontonians liking the 416 area code...With the proliferation of gadgets in North America over primarily
the last 25 or so years older area codes are running out of numbers faster then ever before noting new codes with added "overlay"
numbers...or new codes added to a given area...

This subject reminds me of how 212 phone numbers are sometimes coveted by NYC residents and I have found out recently that
my own area code - 631 in Suffolk County,NY - is running out of numbers and Verizon is choosing whether to split the County up
or to add a overlay - which both of Long Island's counties (516 was once both Nassau and Suffolk Counties - 631 was added back
around 2000) do not currently have...

I think the only way out of the phone number problem is to add another digit to all phone numbers: either have 8 digit numbers
or 4 digit area codes...Something has to give here in time...LI MIKE
 
Last edited:
I agree with LI Mike.

The North American area code should have one extra digit in front for the region. For example, (1NNN) can be designated for one region, (2NNN) can be for another region, etc. like most other countries around the world. Note that North America's international code is +1. By adding a region number in front of area codes would make look as if the country codes are +11, +12, +13, etc.
 
Everyone: I fully understand Torontonians liking the 416 area code...With the proliferation of gadgets in North America over primarily
the last 25 or so years older area codes are running out of numbers faster then ever before noting new codes with added "overlay"
numbers...or new codes added to a given area...

This subject reminds me of how 212 phone numbers are sometimes coveted by NYC residents and I have found out recently that
my own area code - 631 in Suffolk County,NY - is running out of numbers and Verizon is choosing whether to split the County up
or to add a overlay - which both of Long Island's counties (516 was once both Nassau and Suffolk Counties - 631 was added back
around 2000) do not currently have...

I think the only way out of the phone number problem is to add another digit to all phone numbers: either have 8 digit numbers
or 4 digit area codes...Something has to give here in time...LI MIKE

Maybe there should be more choices for digits, like λ or Π. If my calculations are correct, simply adding λ and Π would increase the amount of possible phone numbers per area code by more than a factor of 6. Adding another digit would only result in a threefold increase.
 
Maybe there should be more choices for digits, like λ or Π. If my calculations are correct, simply adding λ and Π would increase the amount of possible phone numbers per area code by more than a factor of 6. Adding another digit would only result in a threefold increase.
Good luck differentiating between B, Β, and В. The first is the Latin letter B, the second is the Greek letter Beta, and the third is the Cyrillic letter Ve.
 
I also think simply having 8 digits would make the most sense.

XXX-YYYY-ZZZZ

where
XXX = area code
YYYY = first 4 digits
ZZZZ = last 4 digits
 

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