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From: wollman@hergotha.csail.mit.edu (Garrett Wollman)
Newsgroups: rec.arts.sf.written
Subject: Re: ongoing infrastructure changes with AI in the USA
Date: Tue, 19 Nov 2024 18:44:25 -0000 (UTC)
Organization: MIT Computer Science & Artificial Intelligence Lab
Message-ID: <vhima8$t51$1@usenet.csail.mit.edu>
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In article <vhih8r$1uic7$1@dont-email.me>,
Cryptoengineer  <petertrei@gmail.com> wrote:
>On 11/19/2024 11:25 AM, Paul S Person wrote:
>> I don't suppose there is an easy way to relate a given cell phone
>> number to the carrier and so to the @ address?
>
>No, there isn't. US phone numbers have been movable between carriers
>for decades. I did it myself.

There is a national database -- obviously, because the incoming calls
have to get routed to the right carrier.  I seem to have misplaced the
name of this database; it's operated under an FCC contract by an
organization called the Number Portability Administration Center.
Every phone call and SMS message requires a lookup in this database.

Originally, calls would be routed on the basis of the local exchange
carrier to which the NPA-NXX was assigned, and then numbers which had
been "ported out" would be kicked back to the originating carrier with
a "not our number" message to force a database lookup.  These days,
it makes sense to just do the database dip unconditionally.  (There's
caching in the carrier networks to minimize their database access
charges.)

Whether there's any way for normal people to get access to this
information I don't know.

-GAWollman

-- 
Garrett A. Wollman    | "Act to avoid constraining the future; if you can,
wollman@bimajority.org| act to remove constraint from the future.  This is
Opinions not shared by| a thing you can do, are able to do, to do together."
my employers.         | - Graydon Saunders, _A Succession of Bad Days_ (2015)