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Alberta Implements New ’587′ Area Code, Telus Confirms

6:41 am on December 29, 2008 | Category: Telecom Services, Telephone, Wireless

The Canadian province of Alberta has implemented a new area code, so as to keep up with rising demand for telephone numbers.

The ’587′ area code will create millions of new numbers for residential, business, and wireless users alike. It has been granted to a limited number of customers (mostly new cell phone subscribers) over the past month.

“The demand (for new numbers) is always there,” said Chris Gerritsen, a spokesman for Alberta’s incumbent telecom provider, Telus. “There was a time when a household had one or two phone numbers. Now people have a cell phone, BlackBerry and, if they work from home, a fax line. It’s not uncommon to have five or six or seven numbers as technology grows or advances.”

Alberta’s telephone operators implemented a province-wide 10-digit dialing system in September in preparation for the new area code. British Columbia’s carriers brought about similar changes to pave the way for the new ’778′ area code in that province.

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