Through the years, new technologies and capabilities have been so popular they put a strain on numbering resources. Cell phones and faxes were blamed for many area code exhausts in the ‘80s and ‘90s. After the Telecommunications Act of 1996, when competition for local telephone service was introduced, we witnessed the greatest threat to area [...]
About Tom McGarry
Tom McGarry is VP of Research at Neustar Labs. The Research Group establishes technology direction and strategy both within the company and on an industry-wide basis.The Story of 500 Numbers
In the mid-’90s the Federal Communications Commission held an auction of spectrum for what they called Personal Communications Service (PCS). PCS was supposed to be different from cellular because the spectrum was friendlier to small, low power devices. In the end technology advanced quickly and this turned out to be additional spectrum for existing and [...]
Moving Telephone Numbers Into the Internet Age
In this final posting of our series on the future of telephone numbers, Neustar’s Tom McGarry explains why rapid changes in Internet and communications require evolving telephone numbers. Now that we’re 20 years past TN 2.0, well into the 21st century, and onto the 3rd generation of the web; it is about time we move [...]
Two Generations of Telephone Numbers
In Part 2 of our series on the future of telephone numbers, Neustar’s Tom McGarry explains the history of phone numbering and how the Internet changed everything. Telephone Number 1.0 Telephone numbers were created early in the 20th century as a way for people with telephones to call other people with telephones without having to [...]
The Future of Telephone Numbers: Numbers 3.0
In Part 1 of our series on the future of telephone numbers, Neustar’s Tom McGarry briefly explains the history of telephone numbering and why we need to think about the future. Telephone numbers are ubiquitous; they are the single most universal identifier used for communications. This is largely due to their many positive characteristics; they [...]
Names and Addresses: A New Column on the Future of Communications
Have you ever thought about the importance of your name and address? They don’t seem like much, but they are important identifiers to help others contact and/or locate you. If all I know about you is your name, I can’t send you a letter in the mail. To do so, I’d need to know your [...]
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