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John Patrick: ENUM is a Really Big Deal

Posted by michael on from the more-ways-to-get-crank-calls dept.

penciling_in writes "John Patrick, former vice president of Internet technology at IBM, says 'ENUM is a really big deal'. Here is what he has to say on CircleID about this: 'Basically, ENUM is a protocol that will make it possible to converge the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) and the Internet. In other words, a telephone number can get you to a Web service -- telephone number in, URL out. The idea can be extremely useful when you consider that most telephones are limited to twelve keys on a keypad. Every try to enter your alphanumeric login ID and password to a web site on a cell phone or Personal Digital Assistant? It is next to impossible! The biggest impact of ENUM will probably be for Voice Over IP (VoIP). In fact, it could be the tipping point.'"

1 of 126 comments (clear)

  1. Tipping point by swb · · Score: 4, Insightful

    The tipping point for VoIP will be going to the local discount store and being able to buy a standards-compliant phone with ethernet and/or POTS (depending on the desire to bridge to POTS) for less than $50. Add slightly more money for greater features (more POTS lines, 802.11, cordless, voicemail, etc).

    In other words, the standards for VoIP need to crystalize to the point where interoperability with gatekeepers and other switch-like devices is a given, and not some game of vendor lock-in. I should be able to buy a Samsung/Apex/Sampo/$cheap_asian_brand VoIP phone, plug it into my ethernet network and have it just plain work with other VoIP phones, bridges, etc.

    How or what the various numbering protocols work isn't the tipping point. The PSTN is too big and complex and the legacy devices too numerous to think that a new, acronym-loaded, buzzword-compliant numbering scheme will make a difference. For VoIP to matter it must initially be transparent to the POTS world, and that means telephone numbers and bridging.

    Vonage is on the right track here as a bridging service. Their POTS bridge device is on the right track at least conceptually, although I can't comment on its protocol neutrality.