Getting in touch with people is no longer a barrier to us. We can select from so many available communication tools and devices offered outside. Via these communication tools there are many numbers/addresses attached to these communication tools and devices, all of which are associated to us. As multiple addresses can now be attached to a single individual, the idea of a single unique identity for all is appealing. This is where ENUM and NGN steps in.
What is ENUM? - One number for all services
Telephone Number Mapping (ENUM) is a protocol for telephone numbering system E.164 that is unified with the Internet addressing system, DNS, using an indirect lookup method, to obtain NAPTR records. It establishes a bridge between the worlds of telephony and the Internet. ENUM and the services linked to it, is open to worldwide communication users by means of normal telephone numbers. Just one number is enough to reach someone not only at their home or mobile telephone but also over a fax machine or even at an e-mail address or through a webpage.
What is NGN? – Future Network Architecture
Next Generation Network (NGN) describes key architectural evolutions
in telecommunication core and access networks that will be deployed over the next 5-10
years. The basic idea behind NGN is that one network transports all information and
services (voice, data, and all sorts of media such as video) by encapsulating these
into packets, like the Internet.
ENUM and NGN – NGN Signalling with ENUM
ENUM, as a standardised technology, offers solutions for many known problems within an NGN. It provides mechanism for the mapping of E.164 telephone numbers into URIs (Uniform Resource Identifiers) and thereby enables new service features within an IP based network.
The deployment of ENUM will support the smooth migration of service discovery and signalling functions from the existing Signalling System #7 (SS7) databases and protocol mechanisms to an ENUM based NGN.
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