Area code 604

Telephone area code 604 serves southwestern British Columbia: the Lower Mainland, Sunshine Coast, Howe Sound/Sea to Sky Corridor, Fraser Valley and lower Fraser Canyon regions, including the city of Vancouver. Initially, 604 was the area code for the entire province until a geographic split was implemented in 1997, creating the new area code 250 for the remainder of the province.[1] 604 is one of the original 86 area codes assigned in 1947 in the contiguous United States and the then nine provinces of Canada.

Until 1988, area 604 also included Point Roberts, Washington, an exclave of the United States; it was transferred in that year to 206 (and is now served by area code 360).

On November 3, 2001, a portion of the region served by code 604 had an additional area code, 778, implemented as a concentrated overlay, which was announced in NANP planning letter PL-246. From that date until 2007, area code 778 served Metro Vancouver as well as the Fraser Valley Regional District (the Abbotsford and Mission exchanges). The remainder of the region was served only by code 604. The addition of area code 778 required the implementation of Ten-digit dialing within both the 604/778 concentrated overlay and the remainder of the 604 region.

The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) announced on June 7, 2007, that area 778 would expand to cover the entire province effective July 4, 2007, because of exhaustion of phone numbers in area 250.[2] Effective June 23, 2008, 10-digit dialing became mandatory in BC and a recording was played to remind of the new rule. After September 12, 2008, 7-digit dialing was no longer functional.[3]

The incumbent local exchange carrier in 604 and 778 is Telus.

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British Columbia area codes: 250, 604, 778
North: 250/778
West: 250/778 604 (overlaid by 778) East: 250/778
South: 360
Washington area codes: 206, 253, 360, 425, 509