Enum Going Live in Ireland

Next week will see the official launch of Enum in Ireland. So what exactly is enum?

ENUM unifies traditional telephony and next-generation IP networks, and provides a critical framework for mapping and processing diverse network addresses. It transforms the telephone number—the most basic and commonly-used communications address—into a universal identifier that can be used across many different devices and applications (voice, fax, mobile, email, text messaging, location-based services and the Internet).

See enum.org Over the past couple of years there have been trials in many countries, including Ireland, with some countries taking the service to a commercial level. In the UK for example Nominet will be involved, while here in Ireland IENum LTD won the bid. So what's happening next week? It's the official launch. The registry will start accepting applications from companies that wish to become accredited as tier 2 registrars and offer enum services to their clientele. (Disclosure - I sit on the policy advisory board for Enum353)