Address Book Entries in International Format

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alasta

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#4799 28-Aug-2005 20:54

The material that I have from Vodafone suggests that it's a good idea to input phone numbers into your handset's address book in international format (i.e. with the +64 prefix) so that you can still use your address book when roaming overseas. Seems sensible to me.

The problem is that caller ID does not supply the caller's number in international format. This means that the handset (Motorola V500 in this case) cannot cross-reference the caller ID number back to a name in the address book. The end result is that, on receiving an incoming call, the handset displays the caller's number but not their name.

I imagine that this must be a pretty common problem and I'm curious to know how others get around it. Thoughts anyone?

freitasm

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#19262 28-Aug-2005 21:16

It is a common problem, but most uncommon is that it does sometimes present the number in that format - I do receive some calls from the US and Australia with the proper format and matching the number on my Smartphone - with the corresponding name being shown.

timbo

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#19271 29-Aug-2005 13:43

International PSTN voice calls often transit a number of long-haul carriers. So any of the carriers from the beginning to the end may for some reason remove the calling party (A-number) number in the call set-up signalling message.

If the number is still available in the signalling message then it is very likely to be passed onto the called party (B-number) but may be in a different format to what is stored in your phone's number list.

BTW, the '+' format is common across all GSM networks. CDMA uses the home country PSTN international escape code, i.e. 00 in NZ, 0011 in Aus-I think. This means it is actually not possible to store phone numbers in your mobile phone and initiate calls from them when travelling.

tonyhughes

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#19273 29-Aug-2005 14:16

timbo: BTW, the '+' format is common across all GSM networks. CDMA uses the home country PSTN international escape code, i.e. 00 in NZ, 0011 in Aus-I think. This means it is actually not possible to store phone numbers in your mobile phone and initiate calls from them when travelling.

Yep. What a pain too. Although for the frequent numbers I use, i store a second entry ("Bob Smith INT" instead of "Bob Smith") then I have the format I need.

Messy though.