The TFNRegistry™ distributes the TFN routing information to the Service Control Points (SCPs) for use in the completion of Toll-Free calls. There are approximately 15 SCPs located throughout the United States and Canada. The TFNRegistry is connected to the SCPs by data links. The TFNRegistry records are "pruned" prior to being downloaded to the SCPs. This process assures that only those SCPs which are expected to handle traffic related to an individual TFN receive a record associated with that number. The process also reduces the SCP storage requirements by only downloading that portion of a record that is related to the territory covered by that particular SCP.
The SCPs connect to the TFNRegistry under the terms and conditions of individual, but identical, contracts. The contracts cover record downloads and SCP administration capabilities among other capability and necessary support.
In January 1994, Canada implemented TFN portability. The TFNRegistry is linked to the Bell Canada Canadian Network Management (Bell Canada) database system physically located in Canada. This link was established to provide a single database for purposes of TFN administration, as well as uniformity for network call processing for United States and Canadian Toll-Free traffic. The Bell Canada database system provides the same originating call screening functions as the SCPs provide in the United States.