> And further to that, throw in Local Number Portability (LNP) and you > really need to know the full number in order to know which switch the > specific number is assigned to. Not all 408-921 prefixed numbers will go > to that switch in West San Jose.
Right, like I said three messages ago but that some people seem to have missed: NANP geographical numbers can be located to a switch (give or take number portability within a LATA), > A phone number, like an IP address, can only imply a physical location. It > is not a guarantee, and that hint can range from moderately accurate to > wildly wrong. Quite right. US mobile carriers let you take your phone number anywhere in the country, so people do. There's also a fair amount of VoIP where again the phone need not be anywhere near the switch -- I have landline phone numbers in NYC, Santa Cruz, Monreal, and Cambridge UK, and don't live in any of those places. Bonus question: is there any way to find out whether and where a number's been ported without spending telco level amounts of money? Free would be nice. R's, John
