ENUM: Converging Telephone Numbers and Addresses in Next Generation Networks

The OECD Document “Convergence and Next Generation Networks” analysed developments in Next Generation Networks (NGN), and the convergence of core and access networks. The aim of that paper was to review areas where policy changes may be required and to put forward recommendations for considerations in areas where change may be necessary to support new developments and to ensure that telecommunication policy goals can be met. The paper depicted areas of regulatory interest, arising from the deployment of NGN. The objective was to identify policy and regulatory issues that government and national regulatory authorities may have to confront in the framework of the development of core next generation networks. It noted that the issue of ‘Numbering, naming and addressing” was a policy area that would need further analysis and that ENUM was one of the potentially significant developments in the converging world of telephone numbering, naming and addressing.