All the way back in October of last year I wrote an entry called “I’m a Phreak” where I laid out what my most recent extreme interest has become — the old telephone network of the 20th century, and all that entails — the history, the technology, the stories, the rise and fall of The Bell System, MCI, and others. I’m certainly not alone in this; in fact, Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak were phone phreaks long before they built the Apple 1, as just one example of the kinds of people who took interest in the network during the golden era of phreaking. Hell, the computer reference isn’t just a superficial one — computing technology was heavily built up from research done by the Bell System in advanced switching concepts. Bell Labs invented the transistor, built the first communications satellites, and principles of switching they devised to carry phone calls and television signals evolved into digital packet communications methods which are quite literally the core of the internet as we all know it!
It’s really an incredible subject of technological magic that’s sadly lost to most people — they think of phones as the little computer in their pocket, somehow equating that horrendous communications device as “progress” knowing nothing of the absolute genius it took in an era before computers to route calls across the country, or even the world.
I, of course, am the kind of person who does appreciate such, and last year all the key elements were in place for me to really get going and deep dive into traditional telecommunications. This culminated in me joining a project known as NPSTN. It’s, at its core, an Asterisk based re-creation of the old phone network, with switches (most virtual but some very real vintage switches) being made available on the network by hobbyists and organizations related to telephone history. Through the later part of 2020 I would dial in regularly over the PSTN (Public Switched Telephone Network; I.E. the normal phone network) and have fun exploring. It wasn’t until February 2021 that I would get into chatting with one of the then-administrators of the network and join in earnest. That event would mark the birth of the project I’ve been focusing on most of this year:
Wolf River Telephone.
Yes, I’m serious in this — as I got into the group I realized that if I could learn, at least to a degree Asterisk PBX software I could do what many others had done and re-create a vintage switch of my own, and have my own block of phone numbers to put whatever I want on.
To that end, I chose a block of numbers that happened to contain my childhood phone number and in mid February really began trying to learn Asterisk. I still feel I’ve only scratched the surface, but after the expected growing pains I went from having a very rough switch with 2000 numbers to right now having a complex network being simulated with various switch types providing 100,000 phone numbers, as just one slice of the worldwide Voice over IP Phone Network that NPSTN is.
That being said, many things have happened over the past 7 months — the admin of NPSTN who was so helpful in suggesting and supporting me in left, and has actually started his own network with the same principle — provide a network for phone phreaks of all kinds to enjoy. I provided help where I could in testing some early aspects of the network and do intend to connect my system to it fully, but I’ve got quite a bit of learning to do and planning to make that happen.
NPSTN, on the other hand, did lose some of its flare when this split happened — some functionality was lost or otherwise messed up in some way (time and temp numbers aren’t quite right for me anymore, for example), but the core network still stands and each hosted switch is still good in and of itself. Indeed, I actually host a small set of numbers for one person who uses them as an intra-office communications system, it’s that reliable.
Oh, yeah, I think I forgot to mention that — since this is a VoIP system, you certainly can talk to others on it — it is a phone network of its own, after all. Indeed, if my friends were to buy the right equipment they too could join the network and we could call each other without issue on whatever crazy vintage equipment we wish, all with the sounds and feel of the old network.
Really, I feel it’s like an art project for me — it isn’t really a true “phone company” in a practical sense and no, with NPSTN you can’t make calls out to the real phone network, but that’s the joy of it — it exists in its own space and I, for one, want to make that slice of it I have as incredible as it can be. As I said, it’s an art project. I keep on refining little bits of it here and there to make it what I feel it can be, and I’m having an absolute blast doing it.
Without going into too much more detail, that’s really that — all I can say is this has been more fun than I’ve had with anything in a very long time, and I feel it’s been a wonderful creative outlet and escape from the annoyances of social media, work, what have you.
That being said, if you wish to dial in, see the numbers on the NPSTN website. I’ll have more to say down the line, so if this kind of thing interests you stick around. I’ll hopefully be getting back on the ball with writing very soon. 🙂
Awesome!