Phone Home: Enum's potential applications aren't as widespread as promised

New Architect Magazine has a pessimistic editorial view on ENUM. "Of course, no matter what the preferences, marketers are bound to abuse the directory just as they have the phone book, the Whois database, and any other public list of contact information." This echoes similar comments made by INTUG on ENUM: "The success of ENUM... will rely on millions of individuals being willing and enthusiastic about entering their details and maintaining their accuracy. Central to this will be confidence in the security and privacy of the records. If, as might happen, they are the subject of identity theft, of yet more junk mail or are the basis for slamming, then the systems will quickly be brought into disrepute and fail."

4:18:53 PM    Google It!    

US Congressional Testimony on ICANN

Updated: The prepared testimonies for the June 12, 2002, US Congressional hearings on ICANN are available:

• Nancy Victory, Assistant Secretary for Communications and Information, U.S. Department of Commerce
• Mr. Peter Guerrero, Director, Physical Infrastructure Group, GAO
• Mr. Stuart Lynn, President, Internet Corporation for Assigned Name and Numbers
• Mr. Karl Auerbach, Member, Interworking Labs
• Mr. Roger Cochetti, Senior Vice President, VeriSign, Inc.
• Mr. Alan Davidson, Associate Director, Center for Democracy and Technology
• Mr. Cameron Powell, Vice President and General Counsel, SnapNames

3:10:30 PM    Google It!    

INTUG on Mobile Termination Rates

The International Telecommunication Users Group (INTUG) has posted a submission it has made to ITU-T Study Group 3 concerning Termination of international calls to mobile networks. The executive summary claims:

• an increasing number of mobile cellular operators are creating a separate tariff for the completion of international calls to their networks 
• these wholesale prices can be as much as 1500% more expensive than calls to a fixed network in the same country
• the mobile operators are leveraging their domestic power in the call termination market into foreign markets for call origination
• with the growing importance of mobile cellular networks, other operators have no alternative but to connect, even when they are unable to negotiate and must pay the price levied by the terminating network
• consequently retail prices to foreign mobile networks can be higher by 10 to 30 cents (Euro or US) per minute
• consumers are frequently unaware of these higher prices
• even if consumers do know that a call will be at a higher price, they frequently have no obvious alternative
• INTUG wishes to see the principle of cost orientation applied to the termination of calls on mobile cellular networks 
• INTUG also wishes to see signatories to the WTO GATS Reference Paper enforce implementation of their commitments to the interconnection of international calls to mobile cellular networks

2:41:47 PM    Google It!    

Technology Neutral Regulation?

[Wired News] Webcasters Demand TV Rights. JumpTV.com claims that Canadian law allows it to webcast network TV signals. But the broadcasters' lobbying group says the government shouldn't let that happen. Anyone remember this started with the shutdown by a U.S. judge in 1999 of the now defunct iCraveTV.com, a Canadian company that began streaming television shows over the Internet?

1:52:52 PM    Google It!