on the principles and conditions of application of the ENUM protocol in France

23 May 2001

Autorité de régulation des télécommunications (ART), which is responsible for the national numbering plan, and the Secretary of State to Industry have launched a public consultation on the draft protocol, ENUM.

ENUM is a protocol defined by the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) used to create Internet domain names from telephone numbers and to link them to communication services (telephone, e-mail, fax, etc.). This is the first truly convergent project between the world of Internet and that of telecommunications which combines numbering aspects with naming and addressing aspects on Internet.

There are a number of issues related to implementing ENUM both at the international and national levels. In particular, the use of telephone numbers and their integration in Internet domain names pose the problem of coherence between the two systems.

In this context, ART and the Secretary of State to Industry seek the opinions of players on the principle of an ENUM-type service, on its applications and expected benefits for consumers as well as on the possible conditions of its implementation.

Responses must be received by 12 June 2001.