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From: covert@covert.enet.dec.com (John R. Covert  28-Feb-1990 0811)
Newsgroups: comp.dcom.telecom
Subject: The CCITT Recommendation on International D.A.
Message-ID: <4531@accuvax.nwu.edu>
Date: 28 Feb 90 13:25:31 GMT
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X-Telecom-Digest: Volume 10, Issue 133, Message 5 of 10


Last November/December, in V9#5xx, there was a discussion of
International Directory Assistance.  Patrick made the eminently
reasonable suggestion that International D.A. be directly diallable,
as D.A. here in the U.S. and Canada is.  Though I agreed with him in
principle, I pointed out several technical and cultural problems with
his suggestion.

Well, there are more than technical and cultural problems.  Quoting
from CCITT Recommendation E.115 Section 3 "General principles
applicable to the various methods of obtaining information":

In any relation, Administrations should abide by the following general
principles:

a) Inquiries from customers concerning foreign subscribers' numbers should
   normally be addressed to operators in the country of origin who will obtain
   the required information; it may be useful to keep the customer on line
   while this information is being sought.

b) In order to give operators in the country of origin ready access to the
   international telephone inquiry service in other countries, it is desirable
   that Administrations, in conformity with Recommendation E.149, provide
   common routing codes or abbreviated access numbers to the foreign computer-
   ized or manual telephone inquiry services.

c) Technical arrangements should, as far as practicable, prevent access by a
   subscriber of one country to an operator of the telephone information 
   service of another country.  Administrations should not communicate 
   access numbers of telephone information services in foreign countries 
   to their subscribers.

d) Exceptionally, however, subscribers in one country may be permitted to have
   access to the information service in another country subject to bilateral
   agreement between the Administrations concerned.

/john


[Moderator's Note: In response, in (a) if that is what they think is a
good idea, then god-bless 'em. Personally I think it only adds
additional confusion, given the relative lack of training AT&T is
providing for their operators these days. If they want the US Operator
to stumble through the call when it would take me thirty seconds to
query the distant point, then its their nickle, not mine. Regards (b)
'common routing codes' of the form 555-1212 work fine here; some
variant -- but as standard as possible -- would work on international
calls. In point (c), nothing currently prevents me from dialing
international DA direct *if* I know the number assigned for the
purpose in the country being called; that is, the number being called
by the operator presently.  And in (d), here in the United States we
already do this: We call direct for Canadian DA; along with any number
of countries (or telephone administrations) in the 809 area. Why
shouldn't we do it when calling the UK or West Germany?  As per point
(d), how do we rate all the exceptions where 809 is concerned?  PT]