GSMA Completes Pilot Carrier ENUM Initiative
December 4, 2008 // Published as a news service by IHS
The GSM Association (GSMA) completed the pilot of their Carrier E.164 NUmber Mapping (ENUM) service.
The service, branded PathFinder, is available to mobile and fixed network operators, carriers and related service providers.
Supported by Bharti, Lleida.net, mobilkom austria, Smart Communications Inc., Telekom Austria, Telecom Italia and Telenor, the PathFinder service pilot exchanged international packet voice and MMS traffic enabled via a global deployment of Carrier ENUM, validating ENUM as an effective solution to IP-based routing and interconnection, according to the GSMA.
The service translates a phone number into an IP-based address, making it transparent for users to initiate IP-based communications via their existing phone numbers and handset address books, said the GSMA.
PathFinder is designed to serve as a central directory for all operators and enables them to launch new IP services including packet voice, instant messaging (IM), MMS, e-mail, and video, by facilitating the linking of an IP address to a phone number for mobile devices, fixed-line phones and IP devices, said the GSMA.
GSMA and NeuStar announced that Acme Packet and iXLink, a business unit of Telarix, are the first vendors to complete the PathFinder vendor certification program, launched as part of the GSMA industry partner program earlier this year.
The partner program initiative is designed to foster working relationships with companies offering products and services complimentary to the PathFinder service and provides certification of technology vendors, said the GSMA.
Source: GSM Association (GSMA).