Area code 807

Area code 807 is a telephone area code in the Canadian province of Ontario. Encompassing the region of Northwestern Ontario, area code 807 was created in early 1962, when the region split from area code 705. The main reason for the split was not the exhaustion of 705 but routing efficiency for calls from Western Canada to northwestern Ontario. Such routing efficiency can now be achieved using the highly-computerized digital exchanges that did not exist in the 1960s.

Major communities served by area code 807 include Thunder Bay, Kenora, Dryden, Fort Frances, Rainy River, Marathon, and Greenstone. The area is split between the Central and Eastern Time Zones.

The incumbent local exchange carriers in area code 807 are Tbaytel, Bell Canada, and Bell Aliant's Dryden Municipal Telephone Service.

It is one of the least populated area codes in Canada. Fewer than 40% of its numbers are being used, and the Canadian Numbering Administration Consortium (CNAC) estimates that it will not be exhausted for many decades. In the early 21st century, as area code 705 neared exhaustion, the CNAC briefly considered "erasing" the 807-705 boundary and turning 807 into an overlay for all of Ontario north and west of the Golden Horseshoe. However, the potential for confusion prevented that solution from being ultimately implemented. As a result, 807 is the only area code in Ontario without an overlay and hence the only one that still allows 7-digit dialing. Other such Canadian area codes are 506, 709, and 867.[1] Although Northwestern Ontario should not need an additional area code anytime soon, 10-digit dialing may still need to be implemented in the area in the near future.[2] That prospect became more likely in June 2021 when the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission recommended a transition to the three-digit code 9-8-8, which is already in use as a local exchange in area code 807, as the nationwide number for suicide prevention hotlines. The CRTC's decision followed the decision of the US Federal Communications Commission to adopt 9-8-8 as the number for the US National Suicide Prevention Lifeline.[3]