White Paper. ENUM Trial Phase 1. Allocation and Registration of ENUM Numbers and Domains. Prepared by

Transcription

1 ENUM Trial Phase 1 Allocation and Registration of ENUM Numbers and Domains Prepared by AusRegistry International & Australian Communications Authority For The Australian ENUM Discussion Group May 2005

2 ENUM Trial Phase 1 Allocation and Registration of ENUM Domains Overview The document outlines the process for the allocation of ENUM-specific E.164 numbers and the registration of ENUM domain names during the initial phase of the Australian ENUM trial. The arrangements outlined in this document have been developed between AusRegistry International and the ACA in the interest of establishing a public trial of ENUM that meets all the requirements outlined in the Context Document for the Australian ENUM Trial and is within the technical and practical limitations of the Registry. The processes documented should be viewed as a starting point to enable phase 1 of the trial to begin in as shorter timeframe as possible. Similar to all aspects of the trial, the processes outlined will be subject to ongoing review and analysis. Background The following terms have been used throughout this document and should be clarified to avoid confusion. Allocation Issue Registry Registration Registrar or Tier 2 Registrar Registrant Numbering Plan The process by which a number passes from the ACA to a CSP The process by which a number passes from a CSP to an end-user or other third party Tier 1 Registry for the Australian ENUM trial (AusRegistry) The act of registering an allocated E164 number as an ENUM domain name in the ENUM Registry. Business responsible for receiving and actioning applications from registrants for ENUM domains. End user seeking to obtain an ENUM domain name. Telecommunications Numbering Plan 1997 Page 2 of 9

3 Phases of the Trial The Context Document for the ENUM trial proposed that the trial be staged in three phases, with each based essentially on the types of E.164 numbers to be used. Phase 1 of the trial will use a new number range of Australian E.164 numbers which are specified in the Telecommunications Numbering Plan 1997, but were not allocated to any Carriage Service Provider (CSP) prior to the commencement of the trial. These numbers can only be used for registration as ENUM domain names during the trial and are not allocated in association with a specific carriage service. Phases 2 and 3 of the trial will continue the arrangements from Phase 1 but also seek to introduce existing digital mobile and geographic numbers which have already been allocated to CSPs. These phases will test the issues related to enabling anyone to register their existing number as an ENUM domain name. Phases 2 and 3 will not commence until suitable arrangements have been developed by the AEDG to cover: Who has the right to register an existing number as an ENUM domain name; and How a customer s existing right to use is verified by a Registrar. This document covers the processes for allocation and registration of the numbers to be used in Phase 1 of the trial. Phases 2 and 3 are outside the scope of this document. ENUM-Specific Numbers Phase 1 of the trial will use ENUM-specific numbers that have been specified under the Numbering Plan for during the ENUM trial only. These are E.164 telephone numbers which can only be used for the purpose of being registered as an ENUM domain name and will not be allocated in association with any other carriage service. The 10 digit, 059 range has been specified for use as ENUMspecific numbers during the trial. This range provides 10 million numbers that are available for use in phase 1 of the trial. These numbers are exempt from annual numbering charges (ANC) for the duration of the trial. The use of ENUM-specific numbers provides a low risk approach that enables a trial to commence in the short term. As these numbers are not already issued to an end-user in association with a separate service, the potential complexities regarding rights of use of other types of numbers that may be registered in phases 2 and 3 are avoided. Page 3 of 9

4 Rights of Use (RoU) A Registrant will receive the right to use an ENUM-specific number when the ENUM domain is registered. The right to use ENUM-specific numbers will typically terminate with the expiry of the ENUM domain license period (i.e. if the registered E.164 domain is valid, the right to use the E.164 number will remain valid). As the domain expires, so to does the RoU on the number. Registration These numbers will be issued to end users by ENUM Registrars at the time of registration of the ENUM domain name. As such, the potential complexities associated with proving an existing right to use the number (via association with another carriage service) is avoided. For ENUM-specific numbers, Registrars will have no requirement to verify an existing right to use these numbers prior to registration. Allocation Cycle for Australian E.164 Numbers The ACA allocates numbers to CSPs in accordance with the rules set out in the Telecommunications Act 1997 and the Telecommunications Numbering Plan Under this legislation, only organisations considered to be CSPs may be allocated numbers from the ACA. Certain number types may be allocated by delegates of the ACA. For example, freephone, local rate and premium rate numbers (1800, 1300, 13 and 19 numbers) are allocated by the Industry Number Management Service (INMS) acting as a delegate of the ACA. Once numbers have been allocated to a CSP, that CSP must manage those numbers until such time as they are transferred to another CSP, or surrendered to or withdrawn by the ACA. This process is shown in Diagram 1. Page 4 of 9

5 Page 5 of 9

6 Issues for the Trial Due to the unique nature of the ENUM-specific numbers, the usual process for allocating these numbers presents some problems for the trial. These are outlined below. Registrars Registrars will be the source of ENUM-specific numbers for end-users however Registrars will not necessarily be CSPs. Therefore for Registrars to obtain numbers they would need to form an association with a sponsoring CSP who could be allocated numbers on their behalf and then issue these numbers to the Registrar. For some Registrars this may represent a barrier to entry to the trial. The Registry The Registry must accept registration requests from accredited Registrars. However, under the allocation arrangements described above, the Registry would not be able to verify that a Registrar had legitimately been issued the ENUM specific number. This system would require manual procedures to be implemented by the Registry to facilitate transfers between Registrars, which would increase costs to Registrars and end-users and introduce a delay in the processing of transfers, which would not be consistent with commercial Registry operations. The ACA Under this arrangement, the Registrar responsible for the ENUM domain name may be a separate organisation from the CSP responsible for the associated E.164 number. This leads to a separation in the authoritative sources of information about the ENUM domain name: The ACA maintains a Register of Allocated numbers that records which CSP the E.164 number is allocated to; The Registry s database which records the Registrar that the associated ENUM domain name has been registered by. Page 6 of 9

7 Synchronisation between the two sources would be difficult and the separation of information may be problematic. An example of this is the following scenario: The number is allocated from the ACA to CSP A who is also an accredited ENUM Registrar. The ACA s Register of Allocated numbers now shows this number allocated to CSP A. CSP A then registers this number as an ENUM domain name with the Registry. The Registry updates its database to show that the ENUM domain name e164.arpa is maintained by CSP/Registrar A. The customer then transfers their domain name to Registrar B. The Registry updates its database to show that Registrar B is now responsible for the domain name e164.arpa. CSP A then surrenders the number to the ACA. The ACA s Register of Allocated numbers now shows that the number is spare and can be allocated to another CSP. However, the associated domain name is still registered to a customer of Registrar B, who has paid a licence fee to receive beneficial use of the domain name for the duration of the licence period. Accordingly a more synchronised and reliable approach is preferable. Allocation Cycle for ENUM-Specific Numbers during the Trial The trial allocation cycle overcomes the problems outlined above by making the Registry the sole source of ENUM-specific numbers. In this way, during the trial period, the role of the Registry will be similar to that of a numbering delegate of the ACA (e.g. the INMS). The Registry will in effect be the sponsoring CSP for all accredited ENUM Registrars (including Registrars who may already be CSPs) and will manage the pool of ENUM-specific numbers on behalf of the ACA. Making the Registry the source of all numbers for Tier 2 removes the need for Registrar to CSP mappings to be maintained. Accredited Registrars will be able to be issued ENUM-specific numbers direct from the Registry as required. The allocation strategy supports the requirement of the Context Document for the trial that requires end users to be able transfer ENUM numbers freely between Registrars. Under this model, transfers of E.164 domains between Registrars will occur seamlessly and in real-time using the domain password and confirmation method currently used for.au domain names, as shown in Diagram 2. Page 7 of 9

8 !"# #$% " "" #$% &!!! Page 8 of 9

9 Outcomes for the ENUM Trial The strategy to be deployed by the ACA and AusRegistry throughout the trial is based upon the fundamental objective that the trial Registry is to be developed to replicate a production (commercial) Registry as closely as possible. This will ensure more meaningful results from the trial and provide a better indication of the likely outcomes and potential issues that may arise in a commercial ENUM service. The selected approach is also based upon the desire of all involved parties to expand and develop public awareness and thus, the usage and overall success of ENUM. This is achieved through deliberate strategies and processes designed to promote competition between Registrars and provide trial participants with the easiest possible methods for obtaining numbers and services. Issuing of ENUM-Specific numbers to Registrars Issuing of numbers to Registrars will be achieved by a variety of methods. 1. Registrar requests an issue of a block (of arbitrary size) of numbers. As a customer requests an ENUM number, the Registrar will send registration requests for numbers within their specific block. 2. Registrars send registration requests for a specified number that is not already issued. The Registry then registers this number to the Registrar. This model is used successfully in the domain name industry where interested parties firstly check a domain name s availability, and then register. 3. Registrar sends a registration request and the next available number is automatically assigned. From a technical and administrative perspective, the ACA and AusRegistry International are in favour of providing options 2 and 3 to Registrars simultaneously. The provisioning of numbers by block allocation may reduce competition where a customer seeks to obtain a specific number that is held in a range by a Registrar that is not their preferred Registrar. Page 9 of 9