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Go Figure: Welcome to B.C’s newest area code

In the latest Go Figure, we look at how the province is dialling it in with the addition of its fifth area code.

By Melissa Edwards /

Credit: Pexels

As the 672 debuts this month, we look at how the province is dialling it in

 

2021 

When B.C. is expected to run out of phone numbers using all of the current four area codes.

50 Years 

Between the launch of 604 and a second area code (250)

6 Years 

Between this month’s new code (672) and the previous addition (236)

63% 

Share of B.C. households with a landline in 2016

9.1% 

Share that only had a landline

56,732 

Estimated number of mobile devices recycled in B.C., 2017

 

Average monthly household spending for 2016 on landlines and mobile phones, respectively 

 

$66.38

Average monthly service revenue per B.C. mobile subscriber, 2017

$2,594 

Average total spending per B.C. household for 2017 on all communications services

? 8% higher than the Canadian average, ? 28% increase since 2013

9%

Share of British Columbians in a 2016 Angus Reid survey who thought they were getting a good deal on their cellphone service

57.99

Telus’s mean cross-Canada 4G download speed, in megabytes per second, during a 2018 study that found it to be the country’s fastest

2+

Download speed, in gigabytes per second, during Telus’s first urban 5G trial in Vancouver last year, using Huawei technology

2

Suppliers worldwide that could provide the necessary technology if Huawei is banned

Sources: CRTC, CBC News, Statistics Canada, Canadian Wireless Telecommunications Association, Angus Reid Institute, Telus, Huawei, Speedtest.