Frequently Asked Questions
We understand you may have questions about our products and services and have compiled a list of common, frequently asked questions and answers that may help. Review the list, perhaps you will find the answer to your question here, if not, contact us and we will try to answer all your questions in a timely manner.
General Questions About Our ProductsQ: Do I need a separate license for each developer in my organization?
A: If all your developers are at a single location within your organization then you would only
need a single License.
Q: Can I redistribute your data products with my software?
A: Yes if you purchase a Developer/Distribution License and adhere to its terms.
Q: How do I order or buy your products?
A: Simply choose the product you wish to order and click the Add to Cart button.
Our Shopping Cart will display your current selections. When you are ready to complete your purchase,
simply click the Checkout button.
Q: What services do you use to process credit card payments?
A: We hold our own Merchant Account and use Authorizenet.com
as our primary credit card payment processor.
Q: How will this purchase appear on my credit card bill?
A: This Web site is owned by Quentin Sager Consulting, Inc. Your purchase through this Web site will
appear as a purchase from Quentin Sager Consulting on your credit card statement.
Q: Can I pay by check instead of credit card?
A: We do not support electronic check payments directly but we will accept mail order type purchases payable
by check or money order.
Q: Can I pay with a company purchase order?
A: Yes, we will accept this payment method. Contact us for more information.
Q: Will I get any type of receipt after I make a purchase?
A: Yes. We send you email confirmation of your purchase which serves as your electronic receipt.
Q: How do I download your products?
A: After your purchase has been authorized and we have processed your order we will send you an
email that contains the Login information you will need to download your purchase from our Web site.
Q: What format do you use for your download files?
A: All our products are compressed using industry standard ZIP format.
Q: Are your ZIP files self extracting?
A: No, you will need a decompression program or utility such as PKZip, WinZip, StuffIt Expander
etc. to decompress them.
Q: Can I get the downloads in Unix tar format instead of ZIP format?
A: No, we currently offer ZIP format only though we may add tar format support in the future.
Q: Can I receive my purchase on a CD-ROM instead of downloading it from your site?
A: No, we currently offer electronic downloads of our products only - for several reasons,
the main one is price - we don't have to pay for CD duplication or distribution and we can then pass those
savings along to you.
Q: How much time do I have to download my purchase?
A: We currently allow our customers one week to complete their downloads. Simply return to our site,
click the Login link located through out our site, enter your order number and password to access your purchase.
Q: I didn't get my purchase downloaded in time, what can I do?
A: Contact our customer support. We will see to it you are able to access your purchase.
Q: How accurate are your data products?
A: We use definitive and reliable industry and governmental sources for our raw data.
We invest countless man hours researching and cross-referencing our data and make every effort to ensure its accuracy.
Q: What file format do your database files come in?
A: All our data products come in ASCII text, comma-separated-value (CSV) format. These files are
then compressed for storage on our Web server's and to reduce download bandwidth requirements.
Q: What is a CSV file?
A: They are human readable (text) files where each row (record) or line within the file contains
one or more values (fields/columns) that are simply separated with a comma.
Q: Why use a CSV format?
A: It is a very portable file format. These data files can be used on virtually all operating
system platforms and can be imported in to virtually any database table without translation or modification.
Q: Can I get your data products in a different format such as Microsoft® Excel or Microsoft® Access?
A: While many of our competitors offer these formats we do not though we may in the future.
Q: Can I import your data into Microsoft® Access, MySQL or similar product?
A: Yes. This is generally a very straight forward operation.
Q: Can I use your data with Microsoft® Excel or similar product?
A: Maybe. These are spreadsheet type applications and not database engines. They generally have an
upper row limit around 65,000 per worksheet. Also, for numeric fields, such as ZIP codes, these products will generally
remove leading zeroes. To import our data into these type products you generally must first change the data file's
extension from csv to txt. This allows you to specifiy how the particular fields are interpreted
on import by the spreadsheet application.
Q: When I use Microsoft® Excel I get the error message "File Not Loaded Completely", what's wrong?
A: This is a well documented limitation in many spreadsheet applications such as Excel. Generally
these applications have a 65,000 row or record limit per worksheet. Currently the only work-around for this is to split
the database in to smaller files, create a new worksheet for each file and then import it.
Q: Your data appears corrupt or is missing records, what can I do?
A: It is always possible for any computer file to become corrupt however our first thought is you
tried to import a large data file (more than 65,000 records) into Microsoft® Excel. Try opening the csv data file
in text mode with any editor, if you can read the data then the file is intact. If the file is intact
then your only option is to split it into smaller files and import them separately. If the data file is truly corrupt
then you need to contact our customer service for a fresh copy.
Q: I don't need all the fields in your records, can I buy certain fields only?
A: Yes and no. We offer various editions for many of our data products with your budget in mind.
We generally will not break up a data product and sell it at a reduced price. We can build a custom database
for you however the cost is generally more than the original product.
Q: I do not know which database I need to order. Can I get a demo version?
A: We try to describe and compare the data fields in our products for this purpose. We provide links
to sample records taken directly from the current product enabling you to weigh the quality of our data.
Q: I found an error in your data, can I get a refund?
A: This is a difficult question. While every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of our data products
they may occasionally contain an error. Our general policy is to review the data, make corrections as appropriate, and supply
you a copy of the corrected database. Because these are downloaded digital goods we handle refunds strictly on a case by
case basis. Our ultimate goal is to provide you the data you need and to ensure you are happy with your purchase.
Q: How often do you update your data?
A: It depends on the data. While certain types of data can change daily other types of data can be
stable for years. For most of our products the data is updated and posted to the Web site monthly.
Q: Does the purchase price include updates?
A: Updates for one year are included with a Corporate or Distribution License purchase only. The
Workstation License does not include updates.
Q: How long are the licenses good for?
A: The license for a particular product allows you to use the product as long as you wish under the terms of
the original license aggreement however updates for Corporate and Distribution Licenses terminate after one year.
Q: I have a Corporate or Distribution License, what's the cost to extend updates?
A: Our policies have changed regarding this issue. For existing clients, or sales in progress, if we have
previously quoted you a price for this particular service we will honor the pricing without question. For new clients,
extending the updates will require a repurchase of the licensed product.
Q: How do I get updates?
A: If you have purchased a Corporate or Distribution license we will send you an email to the address you provided
us when you made your purchase informing you an update is available. We then reenable your account for one week allowing you
to download the update. If you purchased a Workstation license you will need to repurchase the product.
Q: I have a copy of the CO assignments data from NANPA, why does your data differ?
A: The freely available NANPA data is a good start for NPA NXX information but it does contain errors and
should never really be treated as the definitive source for this type of information.
Q: Some Web sites claim to have 400,000 plus records in their NPA NXX databases, NANPA has around 250,000 records, why don't you?
A: It depends on the type records you are comparing. Our databases contain active, normal service NPA NXX
combinations only, some at the 10,000 block level and some at the 1,000 block level. We do not include vacant, inactive,
or reserved NPA NXX combinations.
Q: Do you have 1,000 block NPA NXX assignments?
A: Yes. Some, but not all, of these data products contain this information.
Q: Why does a block number appear in some fields and not in others?
A: If an NXX is assigned to and used by a single carrier we identify the block assignment as "A"
(or possibly blank) meaning the entire 10,000 block is used by this carrier. For pooled numbers the assigned block
numbers (first digit of the subscriber number) may be "0" through "9".
Q: Do you include Canadian data?
A: Yes. we support the entire North American Numbering Plan, this includes the United States, Canada, and
most of the Caribbean.
Q: Where does your telephone data come from?
A: We obtain most of our data directly from the telephone carriers themselves, they are the definitive source.
We obtain additional data from other sources such as the North American Numbering Plan Administrator (NANPA), the Canadian
Number Administrator (CNA), the Canadian Radio-television & Telecommunications Commission (CRTC), the Federal
Communications Commission (FCC), State Public Utilities Commissions, NeuStar Number Pool Administration,
the National Exchange Carrier Association (NECA), and carrier tariffs to name a few.
Q: Do you identify telephone line or service types?
A: Yes, we identify basic land line, wireless, and pager type assignments at the 1,000 and 10,000 block level.
These identifications come from initial CO assignments and carrier type information.
Q: Do you have wireless LNP data?
A: No, our databases do not contain subscriber level information. There are numerous LNP database service
providers however generally not in a form accessable by the general public.
Q: Can your data show if a customer has switched wireless carriers or service?
A: No.
Q: Can I get a list of ported telephone numbers?
A: We do not provide this type of data.
Q: Can I use this data to find someone's telephone number?
A: No. For this you would need to contact the telephone carriers themselves and subscribe to their
directory database service.
Q: How are the latitude and longitude coordinates determined?
A: These are geographic coordinates associated with the general area or location served by a particular
exchange. These values may be used to approximate locations and reliably perform distance and radius type
calculations. They are not meant to be used for or guaranteed to be accurate with telecommunications airline mileage
billing calculations, for that you need to use wire and/or rate center V&H coordinates.
Q: What's the difference between your latitude, longitude and V&H coordinates?
A: Our latitude and longitude coordinates identify the general exchange location. The wire and rate center
Vertical and Horizontal coordinates are definitive industry values pin-pointing the exact location of a wire or rate
center and should always be used when calculating airline mileage distances used in telecommunications billing.
Q: Can I use you NPA NXX data to determine local calls?
A: Yes and no. Our NPA NXX databases do not contain this specific type of data however for the United States
only, when the originating and terminating NPA NXX combinations are in a different LATA the call is long distance. An
intra-LATA call could be a local, local toll, regional toll, or long distance charge type call.
Q: Can I get some sample data?
A: Yes. We provide a sampling, from 100 to 200 records, of data from the current database for your review. Links
to these samples are located on the product specific detail pages. We also provide access to our NPA NXX lookup utility
which uses the current database.
Q: Can I get a sample containing all NXX codes for a particular NPA?
A: No. We will not provide the complete data for a particular area code under the guise of a sample.
We understand that some of our clients only need data for a particular area code or a few area codes and
will be making NPA NXX data for individual area codes available for purchase in the near future.
Q: Can I get NPA NXX codes mapped to census blocks?
A: We currently do not provide this type of data.
Q: Can I get more access to your NPA NXX lookup utility?
A: The primary purpose of this utility is to demonstrate our data. We currently limit its access to ten
lookups per day however we will additionally be offering subscription type access to it in the near future
Q: Can I lookup an NPA NXX combination from a ZIP code?
A: Maybe. These telephone data products contain the first ZIP or postal code found in use in the general
exchange area only. They do not contain a comprehensive cross reference for this type of information.
Q: Do you include all ZIP or postal codes for each NPA NXX combination?
A: No. These are telephone data products, they do not contain full postal code mappings. We may produce data products that do contain this complete information in the future.
Q: How often do United States ZIP Codes change?
A: ZIP codes change sporadically. Most of the time there are a few changes while at other times there may be significant changes.
Q: How frequent are your ZIP code updates?
A: The databases are updated quarterly.
Q: Other Web sites update their data monthly, why don't you?
A: We agree that ZIP code data does change however month to month 5-digit ZIP code changes are minimal. If
significant changes do occur between our quarterly updates we will update our posted data.
Q: Do your ZIP codes contain ZIP+4 data?
A: No, they are 5-digit ZIP code data products only.
Q: What are the latitude and longitude fields used for?
A: The most common use of these fields is the calculation of distance between ZIP codes and determining those
ZIP codes within a given radius. These are the foundation pieces of most dealer locator type programs.
Q: Are the latitude/longitude coordinates centriod or population based?
A: They are centriod based.
Q: What are APO/FPO ZIP Codes?
A: Army/Air Force Post Office (APO) and Fleet Post Office (FPO) ZIP Codes are for mail that is being sent to or received
from military installations located outside the Continental United States.
Q: Do APO/FPO ZIP Codes include latitude/longitude coordinates?
A: No.
Q: What is a ZIP Code and what does ZIP stand for?
A: A ZIP Code is used by the United States Postal Service to identify a specific geographic delivery area.
ZIP is an acronym for Zone Improvement Plan.
Q: What is a ZIP+4 Code?
A: A ZIP+4 Code consists of the original 5-digit ZIP Code plus a 4-digit add-on code. The 4-digit add-on code identifies
a geographic segment within the 5-digit delivery area, such as a city block, office building, etc.
Q: How many types of ZIP Codes are there?
A: Standard, the established and usual ZIP Code used in a specified area; Post Office Box only, similar to Standard but
used for PO Box addresses; Unique, the ZIP Code of a specific large entity; and Military, used for APO/FPO type addresses.
Q: Where do you get your data?
A: Our data is derived from many sources. A partial list includes; the United States Postal Service (USPS), the United
States Military Postal Service Agency (MPSA), the United States Census Bureau Census 2000, the United States
Geological Survey (USGS) Geographic Names Information System (GNIS), certain Federal Information Processing
Standards Publications (FIPS PUB).
