Nominet to be UK registry for ENUM

Nominet has won the right to be the UK registry for ENUM, a new standard for connecting the telephone communications network to the Internet. Nominet will look after and run the ENUM database.

ENUM converges the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) and Internet Protocol (IP) networks by converting a telephone number into a domain name, and registering it on the DNS. This means that a telephone number can also be a VoIP address.

Using this single identifier, users can call someone on different devices and software applications.

The system allows businesses to use VoIP without needing to register with a VoIP provider such as Skype.

Enum is already in use in Germany and the US, and will be launched in the UK in early 2008.

In the UK the ENUM project is being regulated by the Department of Trade and Industry, in order to ensure that the rights of use of telephone numbers and domain names are managed correctly.