Area code 246

Area code 246 is the telephone area code in the North American Numbering Plan (NANP) for Barbados.[1] Telecommunication services in Barbados are regulated by the Government of Barbados's telecommunications unit.[2] The number 246 spells BIM on an alpha-numeric telephone keypad, a nickname for the island.[3][4]

Not to be confused with +246 country code for the British Indian Ocean Territory (Diego Garcia).

Due to a long established affiliation with the NANP, telephone numbers in Barbados are often styled as (246) NXX-xxxx. International standards, such as E.123, advocate the inclusion of the prefix +1 to indicate 246 is a part of the NANP.[5]

History

Area code 246 was created in a split of area code 809, which was the original area code for most of the Caribbean. Permissive dialing was possible from 1 July 1996 to 15 January 1997[6][7] at which time all calls placed to Barbados required the use of the prefix 1 246 prefix.[6]

Dialing procedures

To Barbados
  • From within North America (NANP)

When calling Barbados from elsewhere in the North American Numbering Plan (e.g. from the United States or Canada), callers dial as if undertaking regular ten-digit dialing within those countries. Callers must simply dial +1 246 seven digit phone number.

  • From outside NANP

When calling to Barbados from outside the NANP (e.g. from the United Kingdom), callers must dial their international dialling prefix followed by 1 to access the North American Numbering Plan. For example, a call placed from the United Kingdom would be dialled as 00 + 1 + 246 + local seven digit phone number. Failure to include the prefix "1" results in accessing country calling code 246 of British Indian Ocean Territory (Diego Garcia).[8]

Within Barbados

When placing a phone call from Barbados, also known as HPNA, callers simply use seven-digit dialling (i.e. dialling the last seven digits of the phone number). Unlike in some other Caribbean islands, most residential landline subscribers have unlimited/un-metered rates for calling other local landlines.

  • To North America (NANP)

When calling to other places in the North American Numbering Plan, calls are dialed as if undertaking regular ten-digit dialing in those countries. Callers must simply dial 1 + NPA (area code) + seven digit phone number.

Though usually toll-free when dialled from the US, not all 1-800, 1-888, 1-877, or 1-866 are toll-free when being dialled from Barbados, and may be treated as a toll call. If the number is not toll-free a recording will give directions of how to place a fee based call.

  • To areas outside the NANP

When calling to areas outside the NANP (e.g. the United Kingdom), callers dial 011 + country calling code + phone number. In the case of the UK, a user would dial 011 + 44 + area code + UK phone number.

Emergency calls and services
Police Force: 211, Ambulance: 511, Fire: 311
Information/Directory Assistance: 411
Operator: 0

Central office codes

In the NANP telephone format 1-NPA-NXX-xxxx, the central office codes fall in the position of NXX. In 1996 the following central office numbering plan was put in place by the incumbent local exchange carrier.[6][9]

Location
(By parish or central office)		 Numbers
Christ Church 418, 420, 428
Grazettes 417, 421, 424, 425, 438
St. James 432
St. John 433
St. Lucy 439
St. Philip 423
Telebarbados 620-629
Special services 978
Speightstown 419, 422
Windsor Lodge 228, 426, 427, 429, 430, 431, 434, 435, 436, 437
Cellular 230
Spare 220

Mobile operators

Following liberalisation of the telecommunications industry in Barbados, various central office codes were implemented for local mobile carriers. The following COs were outlined in 2004 by the Minister of Energy and Public Utilities.[10] In most cases Barbados numbers beginning with the following central office codes do not permit incoming collect calls. This list was updated to include allocations for Ozone Wireless from 2014.

Digicel Liberty Latin America
(formerly bMobile, C&W, LIME)		 Ozone Sunbeach Ace Communications International Telephony
258, 260, 261, 262, 263, 264, 265, 266, 267, 268, 269, 820, 821, 822, 823, 824, 825, 826, 827, 828, 829[‡ 1] 230, 231, 232, 233, 234, 235, 236, 237, 238, 239, 240, 241, 242, 243, 244, 245, 246, 247, 248, 249, 250, 251, 252, 253, 254 695, 696, 697 450, 451, 452, 453, 454, 455, 456, 457, 458, 459 776, 777, 778, 223
  1. (820-829), Formerly controlled by AT&T Wireless until transfer to Digicel.

VoIP providers
310 - 359[11]

Geographic

Other landline central office codes which have been activated include the following:

227, 228, 229, 270, 271, 272, 273, 274, 292, 367, 410, 412, 414, 415, 416, 417, 418, 419, 420, 421, 422, 423, 424, 425, 426, 427, 428, 429, 430, 431, 432, 433, 434, 435, 436, 437, 438, 439, 736, 737, 753, 757, 958, 976

See also

References
  1. Admin. (2008). "Policies, Plan & Registers". Telecoms Unit. Ministry of Finance, Investment, Telecommunications and Energy (MFIE). Archived from the original on 2010-06-10. Retrieved 2010-07-08.
  2. "About Us". Telecoms Unit. Ministry of Finance, Investment, Telecommunications and Energy (MFIE). Archived from the original on 4 July 2010. Retrieved 8 July 2010.
  3. Conor Looney, Chief Executive Officer of Digicel Barbados, stated «the area code 246 spells BIM on our keypads», as quoted in “Digicel throwing its support behind BIM” Loop News, 2016.10.27.
  4. LincMad’s Caribbean Area Codes and LincMad’s Area Code Mnemonics, by Lincoln Madison
  5. Admin. (2008). "E.123 : Notation for national and international telephone numbers, e-mail addresses and Web addresses". International Telecommunication Union. Retrieved 8 July 2010.
  6. NANP Administration System (July 2010). "Planning Letter(s): IL95/12-006". NeuStar, Inc. NANP System administrator. Archived from the original on 28 June 2010. Retrieved 8 July 2010.
  7. NANP Administrator (4 December 1995). "Introduction of 246 (Barbados) Numbering Plan Area (NPA)" (PDF). Bellcore.
  8. Cable and Wireless - Diego Gracia Archived January 5, 2010, at the Wayback Machine
  9. "Introduction of 246 (Barbados) Numbering Plan Area (NPA)" (PDF)., Bellcore Letter IL-95/12-006
  10. Admin. (2008). "National Numbering Plans". International Telecommunication Union. Archived from the original on 27 July 2010. Retrieved 8 July 2010.
  11. Barbados Voice over Internet Protocol Policy Archived July 6, 2011, at the Wayback Machine (VoIP), Barbados Min. of Finance, Investment, Telecommunications and Energy (MFIE) - Telecommunications Unit
Barbados area codes: 246
North: Atlantic Ocean
West: +1758, +1784 Area code +1246 East: Atlantic Ocean
South: +1868
Dominica area codes: 767
Martinique area codes:
Saint Lucia area codes: 758
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines area codes: 784
Guyana area codes:
Trinidad and Tobago area codes: 868

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