Need help how to make Directory system in MySQL with 6.5 mill subscribers ?

[Steinar Kolnes]

Hi there,

I have to make a large 6.5 million names and numbers database in MySql(maybe
not so
large for some of you). Yet it is very simple, here is my sql file:

create table subscriber
(
    id				bigint unsigned not null auto_increment primary key,
    subscr_id             	bigint unsigned,
    telco_id			int unsigned,
    first				char (80),
    last				char (40),
    address				char (40),
    postcode		      int unsigned
);

NB I also merged first and middle names into one "first";

All the above should be searchable.
I have a separate table that take cares of postcodes and post names.

However the search is very slow. It takes more than 3 minutes for a query to
search for
first and last name;

Example:
select * from subscriber where first like 'steinar%' and last like
'kolnes%';


Is there any out there that have an suggestion how I can speed things up,
even if I increases the size to more than 10 mill.

I planned to have separate tables for first, last and street addresses,
however is this a good idea ?

Rgs
Steinar Kolnes