ENUM: Bridging the Telephone and Internet Worlds

Title: ENUM: Bridging the Telephone and Internet Worlds

Research Question: How can ENUM, a series of Internet protocols designed to unify telephone and Internet communications, be effectively governed to ensure consumer protection, privacy, and competition?

Methodology: The study examines the technical aspects and policy implications of ENUM, a protocol that places telephone numbers from the ITU Rec. E.164 public telecommunication numbering plan into the Internet Domain Name System (DNS) as domain names. It compares these implications to the existing Internet's logical infrastructure, particularly the DNS root zone and IP address space.

Results: The research finds that ENUM presents significant public policy issues at both the domestic and international levels. It argues that public oversight of ENUM naming, numbering, and addressing resources is necessary both by technical necessity and the interests of consumer protection, personal privacy, and competition. A single, coordinated global DNS domain for at least Tier 0 (the international level) of the ENUM names hierarchy should be designated by public authorities.

Implications: The study suggests that the issues arising from ENUM Tier 0 and 1 should be considered as international public policy issues, given the inherently global nature of the Internet's logical infrastructure. It emphasizes the need for authoritative, international public oversight of certain elements of the public Internet's logical infrastructure, including ENUM.

Link to Article: https://arxiv.org/abs/0109091v1 Authors: arXiv ID: 0109091v1