TELECOM Digest OnLine - Sorted: Re: How to Dial US Toll Free from Toronto

Re: How to Dial US Toll Free from Toronto

John Levine (johnl@iecc.com)
27 Jan 2006 01:53:11 -0000

> Since the NANP consists of some 20 countries (USA, Can, Carib) is
> there a way of "knowing" from the +1 800 (888, ...) number to which
> actual country it is destined for?

That's not a meaningful question. In the USA, when you dial an 800
number, the phone switch does a database lookup to find out which
carrier handles it, connects the call to that carrier who can do
anything with it they want, perhaps forward it to a POTS number
somewhere, or to dedicated trunks, or something more complicated with
voice menus, perhaps based on where the caller is, the time of day,
load levelling, or anything else they offer their customers. The same
thing happens in other parts of the NANP, probably a little simpler in
countries that don't have long distance competition.

When you call +1 800 XXX XXXX from outside the NANP, if they handle
the call, they route it to a NANP country, probably the U.S., and the
call is then handled from there.

R's,

John

PS:

> [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: ... In my opinion, NANPA is a very
> screwed up mess with various places that should NOT be in it
> attached, using the USA 'area code' type numbers and the '1' country
> code. No where else in the world other than Russia ('7') and the USA
> (and its collection of immediate neighbors sharing '1')gets to do
> that.

We offered, Europe turned us down. Their loss.

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