Accessing communications data

摘要

Communications data about a target entity is accessed with the aid of a distributed database system similar to the DNS of the Internet; indeed the DNS may be used as the distributed database. The distributed database stores records each associated with a corresponding domain name and holding an URI of where the desired communications data can be obtained. Each of these domain names is related to a respective number string from which it can be derived by a process including parsing at least a substantial portion of the number string into at least a part of said domain name. Upon the input of a number string indicative of a target entity, the related domain name is formed by parsing the number string (step 120) and the domain name is then used to retrieve the corresponding URI from the DNS-type distributed database system (step 121). This URI is then used to access the desired communications data. <IMAGE>