 the operator was very much tied to the generation of software in the local exchange and whether it had yet incorporated the feature of interest. With INs, Credit Other CSS Network Switches share access to some global data Figure 4.14 An IN Chapter 4 The PSTN you can centrally place this type of service and feature logic on a node (such as an SCP), and then any switch can reach it and make use of that feature. The objective of intelligent networking was initially to ease the introduction of new services into the network. It also provided a foundation for complex services that would be required and desirable on a networkwide basis, such as the automation of the operator-assistance function. Because of INs and specialized peripherals-again, computing systems loaded with specific software-we no longer have to use oper- ators to place a credit card call or a collect call. Intelligent networking gives carriers the capability to directly develop network functionality on outboard processors connected to the switches instead of being tied to their switch manufacturer and relying on the internal software. A main fea- ture developed for intelligent networking during the early and mid- 1980s was digit translation, which was applied to toll-free number translation and VPNs. Custom- ers could develop a unique calling plan that identified their location. They could invent their own numbering plan so that they could dial numbers that were easy for them to remember, and in the network, the IN infrastructure would translate those private numbers into network physical addresses (e.g., country code, city code, area code). Intelligent networking also enables operator-assistance features such as elimi- nating credit card calling and collect calling as manual fulfillment processes. In addition, intelligent networking enables the identification of primary carriers (where competition exists) so that customers can select their primary carriers. Local number portability-which allows you to keep your own telephone number when you move to a