[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 239 (Tuesday, December 12, 2000)]
[Notices]
[Pages 77590-77591]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-31630]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Telecommunications and Information Administration


Public Meeting on the Telephone Number Mapping (ENUM) Protocol

AGENCY: National Telecommunications and Information Administration.

ACTION: Notice of public meeting.

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SUMMARY: The National Telecommunications and Information Administration 
(NTIA), U.S. Department of Commerce, will hold a roundtable to discuss 
and explore issues related to the Internet Engineering Task Force's 
(IETF) Telephone Number Mapping (ENUM) protocol and the work being 
undertaken between the IETF and the International Telecommunication 
Union (ITU) Study Group 2 (SG2) to consider how number resolution using 
ENUM may be affected by public switched telephone network 
infrastructure and telephone numbering administration.

DATES: The meeting will be held from 12:30 p.m. to 5:00 p.m., Monday, 
December 18, 2000.

ADDRESSES: The meeting will be held at the U.S. Department of Commerce, 
Room B841A, 1401 Constitution Avenue, NW., Washington, DC. The meeting 
will be open to the public.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION: For further information, please contact Karen 
Rose, Office of International Affairs, NTIA, telephone: (202) 482-1866. 
Individuals wishing to attend the meeting should send an e-mail with 
the participants name, organizational affiliation, and telephone number 
to [email protected]> with a subject line entitled ENUM ROUNDTABLE or 
call Ms. Rose with this information at the above-listed number.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Currently, communications users require a 
number of different identifiers to be reachable through various 
communications

[[Page 77591]]

networks and services. For example, a user might have an e-mail 
address, a telephone number, and a fax number, among others. The ENUM 
protocol, the result of work of the Internet Engineering Task Force's 
(IETF's) Telephone Number Mapping working group (http://www.ietf.org/html.charters/enum-charter.html>), is designed to allow communications 
users to be reachable using standard telephone numbers (E.164 numbers) 
as a universal communications identifier. The ENUM protocol uses the 
Internet domain name system (DNS) to resolve E.164 numbers into the 
specific routing information needed to connect users through a chosen 
communication path. E.164 is an International Telecommunications Union 
(ITU) Recommendation that provides the number structure used for 
international public telecommunication numbering plan. The ENUM 
protocol itself is defined in IETF document ``E.164 number and DNS'' 
(RFC 2916) (see website above).
    As part of the its work, the IETF engaged the ITU to consider how 
number resolution using ENUM might be affected by public switched 
telephone network infrastructure and telephone numbering plans, such as 
the ITU E.164 standard. Work in the ITU has been undertaken in ITU 
Telecommunication Standardization Sector (ITU-T) Study Group 2 (SG 2) 
Working Party 1 (WP1), which recently held a meeting in Berlin, Germany 
on October 16-26, 2000. Among other issues, SG2/WP1 meeting discussed 
issues raised by ENUM, and particularly, the method for administering 
and maintaining ENUM E.164-based resources in the DNS. The SG2/WP1 
meeting resulted in the issuance of a liaison statement to the IETF 
that set forth a view on how E.164 resources should be administered, as 
well identifying other issues for further consideration (See http://www.itu.int/infocom/enum/wp1-39_rev1.htm>).
    The December 18 meeting intends to explore and stimulate discussion 
on issues raised by ENUM, including those raised by recent ITU work. To 
facilitate an exchange of views, the meeting will be structured as a 
roundtable discussion. The tentative agenda for the meeting (subject to 
change) is as follows:
    1. Welcome.
    2. Technical overview of ENUM and examples of possible services 
enabled by the ENUM protocol.
    3. Exploration and discussion of issues raised by ENUM and ENUM 
numbering administration.
    4. Discussion of ITU SG2/WP1 meeting results and possible US 
approaches to SG2/WP1 to the issue going forward.
    5. Discussion on additional steps for progressing consideration of 
the issue.
    6. Summary.

Public Participation

    The meeting will be open to the public an is physically accessible 
to people with disabilities. Individuals wishing to attend should send 
an e-mail with the participants name, organizational affiliation, and 
telephone number to [email protected]> with a subject line entitled 
ENUM ROUNDTABLE or call Ms. Rose at (202) 482-1866 with this 
information. To facilitate entry into the Department of Commerce 
building, please have a photo identification and/or a U.S. Government 
building pass, if applicable. Any member of the public wishing to 
attend and requiring special services, such as sign language 
interpretation or other ancillary aids, should contact Ms. Rose at 
least three (3) days prior to the roundtable at the above-listed e-mail 
address or telephone number.

Kathy D. Smith,
Chief Counsel.
[FR Doc. 00-31630 Filed 12-11-00; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-60-P