paul@uunet.uu.net (Paul S. Sawyer) (11/09/89)
Dave, and Telecom readers: The file you have is not quite the same as the Bellcore V&H files, though some fields seem to be in the same places; I would guess it was some switch or call accounting vendor's V&H/NPA-NXX data file. The Bellcore file has 80 columns per record, (just right for punched cards - hmmm B-) and there is a Copyright notice as the first file on the tape. We have the full documentation for the file, and it has such telco-oriented things as LATA, RAO, and time zone information; we are basically interested in the NPA-NXX, place name and state, and V&H coordinates for pricing calls. We get the tape once a year, and "Emergency Notification" (on paper) which comes about once a week with minor changes, new exchanges, etc. The tape is issued monthly for those who could afford it (or could not afford NOT to have the most current information - - like telcos). The emergency notifications do NOT cover planned changes like NPA splits, so we have to stay aware of such things during the year between tapes. I believe we pay several hundred dollars for this service, and our sales or license agreement limits our use of it to the one computer. Hope this helps, Paul = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = Paul S. Sawyer uunet!unh!unhtel!paul paul@unhtel.UUCP UNH Telecommunications attmail!psawyer p_sawyer@UNHH.BITNET Durham, NH 03824-3523 VOX: 603-862-3262 FAX: 603-862-2030