Telecom - Secretary General Letter addressed to Philippe Gauvin (Bell Canada)
Gatineau, 16 December 2025
Our reference: 1011-NOC2023-0092
BY EMAIL
Philippe Gauvin
Assistant General Counsel
Bell Canada
19th Floor, 160 Elgin Street
Ottawa (Ontario) K2P 2C4
Bell.regulatory@bell.ca
Subject: Bell Canada central office code request
Dear Philippe Gauvin,
We are writing to inform you of the Commission’s decision regarding your 4 November 2025 request for the approval of additional central office (CO) codes to be assigned to Bell Canada (Bell). This request was made on the basis that the numbers are required to allow Bell to enter and provide services as a Competitive Local Exchange Carrier in three new exchanges in Haileybury, New Liskeard, and Cobalt, Ontario.
On 30 October 2023, the Commission imposed an interim measure requiring Canadian carriers who require additional CO codes beyond planned levels to apply to both the Canadian Numbering Administrator (CNA) and the Commission, justifying their need for additional resources. This measure is designed to conserve and maximize the use of available telephone numbers.
Having considered your request for additional numbering resources against factors outlined in the interim measure, the Commission is satisfied that it is justified, on the basis that:
- Bell intends to employ the requested CO codes to provide services as a Competitive Local Exchange Carrier, which will help promote access to affordable telecommunications services for the Canadian population;
- Bell is not in possession of unused numbering resources from previous assignments which can be used instead; and
- The request will not adversely impact available numbering resources.
Based on the above, the Commission grants Bell access to the three additional CO codes requested in your 4 November 2025 letter.
Further, the Commission notes the Canadian Steering Committee on Numbering’s recommendation that carriers promptly return unused thousands-blocks in a thousand-block pooling environment. All carriers are strongly encouraged to return any blocks that are not placed in service to the CNA once thousand-block pooling has been implemented.
If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact Étienne Robelin, Manager, Numbering Resource Administration, Telecommunications Sector, at Etienne.Robelin@crtc.gc.ca or 819-712-0199.
Sincerely,
Original signed by
Marc Morin
Secretary General and Executive Vice-President
CC:
Kelly T. Walsh, Program Manager, Canadian Numbering Administrator, Kelly.Walsh@cnac.ca
Suneil Kanjeekal, Director, Telecommunications, CRTC, Suneil.Kanjeekal@crtc.gc.ca
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