Toronto is set to get a third area code, 416 holders set to get even smugger

The city is running out of phone numbers. Two decades ago, the GTA had to be split into the 416 and 905 area codes keep pace with an ever-increasing population—Ontario’s political language has never been the same—and then, when the 416 wasn’t big enough for Toronto proper (the decade-long shift from one phone per household to one phone per person certainly helped), the 647 code was born. Now, it looks like the city has outgrown that schema, too.

The Toronto Sun has the story:

A Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission spokesman would only say Monday that a decision about adding a three-digit prefix to 416 and the 10-year-old 647 will “be coming out in a couple of weeks.”

The CRTC announced last July that an explosion of GTA phones will exhaust existing area code limits by 2015.

A spokesman predicted a third number is likely, but studies and public consultation—plus consideration of what the three digits will be—had to be conducted. A decision as early as late 2011 was said to be possible.

Those who still lay claim to the 416 prefix will now be blessed with an even more valuable status marker—after all, they hold the only pure and eternally true signifier of what a real Torontonian’s phone number looks like. That is, at least until 2031, when apparently every available area code will be used up, and North American exchanges will have to add an 11th digit, ruining the smug fun for everyone.

• Decision on third area code in T.O. expected soon [Toronto Sun]