Abstract: A universal database of telephone numbers of the Public Switched Telephone Network operating under the North American Numbering Plan is created and updated regularly to reflect the most current name and telephone information for telephone subscribers. The database is updated by a system that accesses telephone company subscriber databases through a high-speed connection such as a T1 line that permits modification of the outgoing Calling Party Number (CPN) message field to include any telephone number that the system is interested in searching. By placing a call to a destination line belonging to the system and inserting a telephone-number-in-question (TNIQ) into the CPN message field, the system receives the subscriber name associated with the TNIQ as part of the Caller ID data reported by the telephone company on the destination line between the first and second rings of the incoming call.