SERVICE PROVIDER SELECTION PROCESS MUST BE INCLUSIVE, AGENCIES SAY
NTIA, FCC and State Dept. officials said Wed. they supported the idea of an industry-based mechanism for choosing the provider of “Tier I” services for a U.S. e- numbering (ENUM) system -- under certain conditions. The ENUM Forum, an industry group, is considering forming a limited liability corporation (LLC) to manage the selection of one or more database operators from which ENUM queries would be launched (akin to domain-name system registries).
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In their letter to ENUM Forum Chmn. Gary Richenaker, NTIA Dir. Nancy Victory, FCC Chmn. Powell, and State Dept. U.S. Coordinator for International Communications & Information Policy David Gross said that idea and other industry-based solutions were fine as long as they were “as inclusive as possible.” ENUM maps domain names to telephony platforms.
The officials stressed, however, that any process must: (1) Ensure competition. (2) Allow for interoperability of alternative ENUM deployments. (3) Encourage innovative services and products. (4) Protect the privacy and security of ENUM users.
The question of whether the contracting agency for Tier I operators should be run by the U.S. govt., companies involved in ENUM implementation or a combination of the 2 is one of several major issues that must be resolved before the U.S. can begin ENUM implementation, an Aug. 6 ENUM Forum working document said. The other 2 are: (1) Whether or not a zone should be put in place for all of country code 1 (which includes the U.S. and 18 other countries) and operated by an entity in North America. (2) Whether the zone for all numbering plan areas within the U.S. should be run by a single company or multiple companies.
Whatever form Tier I implementation takes, the working paper said, it should have several attributes: (1) A short implementation time frame. (2) As little govt. oversight as possible. (3) As much competition as possible. (4) All interfaces should be based on open industry standards and best practices that were stable, interoperable and uniform between the registrar and registry(ies). (5) The contracting authority should own all intellectual property for easy transition from one entity to any successor. (6) Minimal procurement and operations costs.
ENUM Forum members haven’t reached a conclusion on the 3 key issues outlined in the working paper, said Steven Lind, AT&T standard strategy mgr. for international numbering resources. The goal is to finalize those recommendations when the group meets Sept. 23-24, he told us. After that, he said, it’s up to industry to decide on the next step.
An industry-led approach “offers the promise of a more limited role for government,” said Scott Marcus, FCC senior adviser for Internet technology. The govt. has said publicly from the start that “we advocate a minimalist role” for govt., he said. It also is possible that an LLC-based designation process would be easier and quicker, Marcus said.
But “some level of U.S. government involvement is… required,” Marcus said. The U.S. govt. -- presumably the State Dept. -- “would need to communicate with the [ITU] and/or [Reseaux IP Europeens Network Coordination Centre] to indicate support for any ENUM delegation of portions of country code 1 pertaining to the U.S.,” Marcus said. Moreover, he said, the FCC, NTIA and State Dept. had been involved in ENUM discussions from the beginning. NTIA’s areas of responsibility include a “vital role” in the domain name system and other aspects of Internet governance, he said. The FCC has exclusive responsibility for the telephone numbering plan, he said, and the State Dept. speaks for the U.S. internationally. “Each has a role to play,” and other agencies may have one as well, Marcus said.