Canada's Telephone Number Rules are changing: Here's what carriers need to know

In a decision released September 26, 2025 (CRTC 2025-252), the CRTC approved a series of recommendations to strengthen the Canadian number assignment guidelines.

Currently, carriers are not required to report how many of the telephone numbers allocated to them by the Canadian Numbering Administrator are actively in use by end-users on Canadian networks. Nor are carriers required to meet a usage threshold (i.e., a minimum rate of active assigned numbers) when requesting additional numbers. That is about to change. Under the new requirements, carriers must be able to:

1. Track and report telephone number utilization (in-service to end-customers versus total assigned resources) by exchange area. For many carriers, these reports could span hundreds of rows, given that Canada has approximately 3,000 exchange areas.

   
   

2. Collect utilization reports from reseller customers who are allocated blocks of telephone numbers, and integrate those reports into their own utilization filings.

Utilization reporting will now be required whenever a carrier requests additional number blocks. In the near future, carriers with poor utilization metrics may see their requests for new numbers denied. Additionally, utilization reporting for all exchanges where carriers hold numbers will be required as part of a new semi-annual demand forecasting process.

Demand forecasting itself is undergoing significant changes. Forecasts must now be filed semi-annually and by exchange area. Previously, carriers only needed to forecast at the area code overlay level-at most 18 forecasts in total. In addition, forecasts will no longer be in blocks of 10,000 numbers but instead in blocks of 1,000. Gone are the days of one-page filings with a handful of rough estimates.

The telecommunications industry has also been directed to develop new audit guidelines to ensure compliance with these updated requirements, including utilization reporting. These guidelines must be filed with the CRTC within six months.

Carriers without complete telephone number inventory management systems will face a steep challenge. Such systems must include:

• An inventory of numbers assigned to end-customers, by exchange area.

  
  

• An inventory of numbers assigned for other specific purposes.

  
  

• ·An inventory of number ranges allocated to each wholesale customer, also by exchange area.

  
  

Without this level of detail, carriers will struggle to produce the required forecasts and utilization reports. Failure to comply may result in denied access to new number resources and, eventually, costly third-party audits at the carrier’s expense.

There are several ways to manage this new regulatory burden:

• Acquire a modern number inventory management system with APIs or webhooks tied to back-office provisioning systems, enabling automated reporting.

  
  

• Allocate IT resources to upgrade existing systems.

  
  

• Increase TN inventory management staffing so utilization and forecast reports can be produced manually on an ongoing basis.

Have you landed on your strategy with these new changes?