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Archived Press Releases
Interim Approval for Internet Telephone Numbering System (ENUM) Provisioning
- Countries wishing to implement ENUM system may now do so.
- System offers promise of standardized international Voice and Video
on IP services.
Washington, DC - May
24, 2002 - The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) and the Internet
Architecture Board (IAB) announce interim approval
for a single domain for ENUM, a technology that builds a bridge between
the public switched telephone network and the Internet.
Voice on IP networks
today operate by translating telephone numbers to IP addresses and placing
an H.323 or SIP call to the device. The interchange
format and translation record has not heretofore been standardized, limiting
the possibility of deployment of multi-corporate and international Voice
on IP services. Under the ENUM proposal, E.164 numbers can be represented
as Internet Domain Names,providing a scalable and standard way to translate
the numbers, and opening the way to such services. ITU has begun approving
delegations for the purposes of trials. "The lack of an interoperable
standard way to turn a telephone number into an IP Address has been one
factor limiting the deployment of Voice on IP services internationally",
said Leslie Daigle, Chair of the Internet Architecture
Board.
If desk-mounted computers or servers are given telephone numbers as well as mnemonic names, this system further enables common telephone handsets to place Voice or Video on IP calls to such computers. This is a significant step towards integrating Internet-based services with the global telephone network, and the current agreements between IAB and ITU will allow trials to take place.
Patrik Faltstrom, member of the Internet Engineering Steering Group (IESG), said that "the integration of the desktop telephone and computer allows corporations to simplify their internal networks." Roy Blane, Chair of ITU-T's Study Group 2, concurred, saying that "In the long term this protocol may facilitate many new internet services. In the short term, countries wishing to trial the system can begin work on developing it."
This interim approval
is made possible due to cooperation between ITU, IAB and the Internet
Engineering Task Force (IETF). As outlined in the ENUM
specification document, RFC 2916, sub-domains from a single domain will
be delegated after acceptance by the registries according to the existing
assignment of country codes in the telephone address space.
Information on how the ENUM registration requests will be processed can be found at http://www.ripe.net/enum/
About ISOC
The Internet Society <http://www.isoc.org/> is a non-profit, non-governmental,
open membership organization whose worldwide individual and organization
members make up a veritable "who's who" of the Internet industry.
It provides leadership in technical and operational standards, policy
issues, and education. ISOC is the organizational home of the International
Engineering Task Force, the Internet Architecture Board, the Internet
Engineering Steering Group, and
the Internet Research Task Force - the standards setting and research
arms of the Internet community.
About the IETF
The Internet Engineering Task Force is an international community of network
designers, operators,vendors, and researchers concerned with the evolution
of the Internet architecture and the smooth operation of the Internet.
The definition of the ENUM protocol, as proposed by the IETF can be found
at
http://www.ietf.org/rfc/rfc2916.txt. The IETF is an organized activity
of the Internet Society.
About ITU
The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) is a global organization
where the public and private sectors cooperate for the development of
telecommunications and the harmonization of national telecommunications
policies. Study Group 2 of the ITU Telecommunication Standardization Sector
(ITU-T), where work on ENUM is being carried out, is the Lead Study Group
on Service definition,Numbering, Routing and Global Mobility and is responsible
for the operational aspects of service provision, networks and performance.
More information on the ENUM protocol, and the issues related to it, can
be
found at http://www.itu.int/ITU-T/worksem/enum/index.html.
Contacts:
Patrik Fältström
paf@cisco.com
Leslie Daigle iab-chair@iab.org
Scott Bradner sob@harvard.edu
Roy Blane roy.blane@ties.itu.int
Richard Hill richard.hill@itu.int
Lynn St.Amour st.amour@isoc.org
