  We evaluate the effect of variations in the electron-impact excitation cross
sections on the non-LTE line formation for hydrogen in early-type stars. While
the Balmer lines are basically unaffected by the choice of atomic data, the
Brackett and Pfund series members allow us to discriminate between the
different models. Non-LTE calculations based on the widely-used approximations
of Mihalas, Heasley & Auer and of Johnson fail to simultaneously reproduce the
observed optical and IR spectra over the entire parameter range. Instead, we
recommend a reference model using data from ab-initio calculations up to
principal quantum number n<=7 for quantitative work. This model is of general
interest due to the ubiquity of the hydrogen spectrum.
