ENUM: the link between the Internet and telephony
ENUM is a new technology to the Netherlands that links the world of telephony with the world of the Internet. And that means major changes in the way we contact one another. The biggest change is that the communication medium is no longer chosen by the person who initiates contact - the caller or message sender - but by the person who takes the message or call.
In other words, you can decide how you want to be contacted. It is up to you whether incoming communications arrive as an e-mail, a call to your landline or mobile phone, a text message or a fax. Various combinations are also possible. When someone wants to get in touch with you, all they have to do is select your name from their address book and initiate the contact process. An ENUM application then uses your phone number to retrieve your contact details from the ENUM databases. And the message is delivered in the form that you - the recipient - have specified.
The unique feature of ENUM is that you define your contact preferences and combine the various options in the way that suits you. You might choose to have all your e-mails delivered to your mobile as text messages or for voice-mail messages to arrive as e-mails. So communication no longer depends on where you are or what platform (phone, Internet, PDA) you are using.
ENUM can also be used to make settings or preferences available to applications. This is useful mainly to organisations that are looking for a standard that will enable them to make the most of their applications.
News
- ENUM Business Opportunities knowledge exchange event on 2 March 2010, Utrecht, The Netherlands. All presentations, the resuls of the ENUM survey and the demo of the ENUM-app for Android phones can be downloaded here, read more...
- From 2 - 22 February a ENUM survey was conducted. You can download the results here, read more...