National Directory Assistance

National Directory Assistance (NDA) provides your local exchange end-users the ability to request both local and national directory listings by dialing 411. End-users only have to provide the city, state and person or company name to obtain a listing. National call completion is available in those states where NDA is tariffed. By using NDA, your company will bill for and generate the margin on the national look-up using the 411-dialing pattern. National Directory Assistance provides listings for the entire United States and Canada.

How 411 Works:

411 is translated in your switch to ring to a toll free number which is forwarded to NDA operators. A recorded message opens the call: “411 can now help you find numbers anywhere in the country.” A live operator then asks, “City and state please?”. At this time the end-user may state he is requesting two listings. Only the last listing will be available for call connection. This request will generate one CDR record with the last listing information only.

For national listings in NDA tariff states, the operator then states, “Please hold for your listing.” The operator releases the number to audio and the caller is greeted with the following prompts: “We can connect your call automatically at the end of this message; the number is NPA NXX XXXX. National Directory Assistance is completing your call to NPA NXX XXXX at (x) cents per minute or you may hang up and dial your number.”

For local listings, the caller hears, “Please hold for your listing. The number is NPA NXX XXXX. The number is NPA NXX XXXX.” In each instance, the caller hears the requested number twice.

If a listing is not found, the live operator will state the number is not found. The customer will be billed for this call; however, the CDR will reflect a “listing not found” status.

CDR

Call detail records will be returned to the ILEC on a regular basis. The toll will be easily identifiable as Local Directory Assistance, National Directory Assistance or call completion.