DTI calls on industry to participate in UK ENUM trial

The UK ENUM Group, set up following a workshop hosted by the DTI in September 2001, has unveiled plans to launch a UK trial of the new ENUM technology later this year: parties interested in participating in the trial are invited to lodge their interest with the DTI.

Background

ENUM is a revolutionary new technology which seeks to establish an international standard to link telephone numbers to the internet by converging the Public Switched Telephone Network (voice communication) and IP networks (data communication). The aim of ENUM is to provide subscribers with a single number to replace the multitude of telephone numbers and internet addresses (home telephone, business telephone, fax, mobile telephone, web address and e-mail address).

ENUM will enable subscribers to specify their preferences for receiving incoming communications and give greater control over how such communications are dealt with. For example, a subscriber may specify that all ENUM calls should be diverted to a mobile phone during certain times of the day and to a business number during other times, or that all faxes sent to the ENUM should be forwarded to the subscriber by email and so forth. The benefits are clear - one single number for communications with increased flexibility and intelligent call handling for the subscriber.

How will it work?

In brief, the ENUM protocol will automatically convert a standard international telephone number into an “internet friendly ENUM format and seamlessly connect the user accordingly. In converting the standard telephone number into an “internet-friendly ENUM, the ENUM protocol will essentially reverse the telephone number, insert dots between the digits and add the internet domain “e164.arpa. For example,

CMS Cameron McKenna’s telephone number: +44 207 367 3000

CMS Cameron McKenna’s ENUM: 0.0.0.3.7.6.3.7.0.2.4.4.e164.arpa

Practically, users will remain unaware of the instant conversion process and will continue to dial the familiar telephone number to contact that party, however the call will be handled according to the subscriber’s preferences i.e. directed to voicemail, forwarded to a mobile etc.

Participation in the UK ENUM trial

ENUM remains in its relative infancy and many issues remain outstanding – number portability, international telephony standards, data protection issues etc. The DTI is however keen to ensure that the UK remains at the forefront of this new technology and is calling for expressions of interest from internet providers, application developers and telecom companies who wish to participate in a UK ENUM trial. Information on the trial can be found at the DTI’s website http://www.dti.gov.uk/cii/regulatory/enum/index.shtml and more general information can be found at www.enum.info.

For further information, please contact David Roberts at [email protected] or on +44(0)20 7367 3678 or contact Richard Eccles at [email protected] or on +44(0)20 7367 3996 or Simon Moran at [email protected] or on +44(0)20 7367 3680.