When in 1947, the American Telephone and Telegraph Company (AT&T) announced plans for organizing the telephone networks of North American into a unified continental telephone numbering plan, Alberta was recognized as a single numbering plan area (NPA), receiving area code 403, as one of the original eighty-six area codes. In addition to the province, this included also the Yukon, and the western half of the Northwest Territories. It was the second-largest numbering plan area in the system and spanned 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 just the province of Alberta, and the Canadian territories were split off with the new area code 867.
Within only a year, area code 403 was threatened by exhaustion because of the rapid growth of telecommunication services demand for pagers, cellphones, and computer modems, as well as growing competition among providers.
For mitigating the threat of exhaustion, the northern two thirds of Alberta, including Edmonton, was split from 403 on January 25, 1999, receiving 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. Area code 780 started use on January 25, 1999. Generally, everything north and west of Ponoka switched to 780. Permissive dialing of 403 continued throughout Alberta until May 18, 1999. Area code 780 is also the last new area code in Canada to be introduced by a split.
Within a decade, area code 780 was close to exhaustion once again, along with area 403 in the south. The solution for mitigation was to implement a complex overlay for the entire province, extending over both numbering plan areas, with the new area code 587.[1][2][3] Optional ten-digit dialing began on June 23, 2008 and became mandatory on September 12, 2008.[4] On September 20, 2008, Telus Mobility began to assign 587 telephone numbers to new customers in Calgary and Edmonton.
On April 9, 2016, all three numbering plan areas of the province were overlaid with an additional area code, 825.[5]
On January 21, 2022, the province was once again overlaid with another area code, 368.[6][7]
Local exchange carriers
The incumbent local exchange carrier in area code 780 is Telus.[8] Until its merger with Telus in 1995, over three years prior to the startup of 780, the municipally-owned Edmonton Telephones (Ed Tel) served as an ILEC.
