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The tool free 800 and for-pay 900 systems are already one redirection layer in the telephone network. When you call an 800 number it's actually an SS7 signaling
by adestefan 15y ago
The tool free 800 and for-pay 900 systems are already one redirection layer in the telephone network. When you call an 800 number it's actually an SS7 signaling database lookup that then redirects to another number. The same is true for calling cards (remember those?).
In mobile phone systems the telephone number really is a simplier naming scheme. The call is routed based upon some id number for the SIM card/phone which is first looked up based on the phone number you dialed. For GSM this is a 64-bit International Mobile Subscriber Identifier (IMSI) and who wants to remember 64-bit values (IPv6 anyone?). AFAIK GSM says nothing about having a 1:1 mapping between phone number and IMSI, but it's been a long time since I did GSM work.
- andreasklinger 15y agoThanks for that technical insights! I am aware of phone number forwarders. I use them for company phone numbers. As I said with Google Voice it solves the problem to the biggest extend. But you as an expert might know that… Are there any services that offer me a Global Number that won't require "international call" charges from international people who call me ? Would this even be technically possible?
- adestefan 15y agoI'm sure there's someone out there that does it, but you'd have to pay the charges instead of your customer. Call routing is designed to make money first and route calls second.
- andreasklinger 15y agoHm sounds as efficient as sticking with one number no matter where you are and accepting roaming.