Telephony's next act

Traditional telephone networks and the Internet handle signaling very differently. Voice customers use traditional phone numbers, while the Internet is based on domain names. A technology called voice over Internet Protocol (VOIP) promises to merge these two technologies through a new type of data record called ENUM, for electronic number. By accommodating the legacy information of both telephony and the Internet, ENUM serves as a bridge between the two global communications networks. Specifically, ENUM provides a simple way to turn a phone number into an Internet address. Currently, public ENUM trials are under way in a number of countries, including the United Kingdom, Germany, Austria, and Australia.