Wednesday, September 01, 2004

ENUM could be the missing link to next-generation voice services. But will it be hindered by a group of telecom incumbents?

Technology defines tomorrow's telephone network. Whether it's the newest whiz-bang handsets, crackerjack protocols, or light-inspired optical gizmos, high technology will make or break the next-generation phone network. Right?

Think again. The battle for the new phone network is gearing up in the political back alleys of Washington, D.C., where incumbent providers and upstart telephony competitors are battling over the deployment of RFC 2916. This new Internet protocol, dubbed ENUM (short for Electronic Numbering), maps phone numbers to URLs, and it could give Internet telephony providers the technology to turn the Internet into a fully functional telephony network.

Read here.

posted by Dietrich Bonhoeffer at 5:48 AM