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From: tjo@its.bt.co.uk (Tim Oldham)
Newsgroups: comp.dcom.telecom
Subject: Re: Directory Assistance on CD-ROM
Message-ID: <14171@accuvax.nwu.edu>
Date: 30 Oct 90 14:09:58 GMT
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X-Telecom-Digest: Volume 10, Issue 778, Message 2 of 16


In the UK, (BT) charges for directory inquires are to be brought in
next year. (Mercury, the only other carrier, has always charged, I
believe.)  This has lead to BT offering two alternative services for
inquiries; an dial-up on-line inquiries database, via modem (although
I'm not sure what speeds are to be offered; V.32 at best, I imagine)
and a CD-ROM + PC software solution.

With the former, you pay only for the call into the database, which is
at local rates. With the latter, I believe the charge will be c. 2200
pounds sterling per annum, which gives you quarterly releases of the
entire UK phone book on CD-ROM and suitable software for a PC. Data is
stored in encrypted form on the CD; reverse inquiries are "impossible".
(Read: not worthwhile in sensible compute time).

The only thing that puzzles me is exactly how you manage the logistics
of having a CD-ROM/PC solution. What do people see as a sensible way
of working? Switchboard having the PC and doing inquiries for you?
Surely a dedicated own-company inquiry service is OTT? And the trouble
with the dial-up solution is surely the sheer amount of time needed to
do a simple inquiry. Other solutions?

Of course, a networked inquiries server would be fine by me, but I'm
not at all sure that that's actually possible with the s/w being
offered.  Presumably it wouldn't make BT enough money to recoup the
development costs.

Disclaimer: while I work for BT, I have no connection with directory
inquiries or even the phone system in general. These are my opinions
and questions, not BT's.


Tim Oldham, BT Applied Systems. tjo@its.bt.co.uk or ...uunet!ukc!its!tjo