Path: utzoo!censor!geac!torsqnt!hybrid!scifi!bywater!uunet!bu.edu!telecom-request From: djcl@contact.uucp (woody) Newsgroups: comp.dcom.telecom Subject: Re: International 800 Numbers? Message-ID: Date: 3 Mar 91 00:14:58 GMT Sender: news@bu.edu.bu.edu Reply-To: djcl@contact.UUCP (woody) Organization: Contact Public Unix BBS. Toronto, Canada. Lines: 23 Approved: Telecom@eecs.nwu.edu X-Submissions-To: telecom@eecs.nwu.edu X-Administrivia-To: telecom-request@eecs.nwu.edu X-Telecom-Digest: Volume 11, Issue 175, Message 8 of 13 "International" 800 numbers just seem to be domestic toll-free numbers that get call-forwarded to their international destination. Canada has agreements with some countries for such service. However, each country has its own toll-free system (North America 1-800, UK 0800, and the Netherlands with 06-0/4). Numbering plan setups require different numbers in different countries. There was a posting in TELECOM Digest not too many months ago about some noises that a CCITT study group was making so as to provide a toll free country code so that a consistent dialing number may be had through the overseas dialing system. One flaw was that the proposed country code would be 800. While the idea of patterning the country code after the common 800 code (North America, UK), that in fact would be confusing for the existing domestic 800 services. Anyone with connections with the CCITT should push for a toll-free country code, but make it something other than 800 (like 991, which could see the 99X country codes used for special purposes; an international 900/976-style service, anyone? ;-)) djcl@contact.uucp ... in April, watch for postings from Florida