Number and Domain Name Portability

This Internet-draft from Neustar staff is a great primer on numbering portability in the Public/Global Switched Telephone Network (PSTN/GSTN). Service provider portability, meaning the ability to switch service providers and retain existing numbering resources, is an important component of any pro-competitive telecom market liberalization. The concepts behind number portability, preventing service lock-in, is what made the IAHC propose a similar model for the generic Top Level Domain (gTLD) marketplace back in 1996 (as well as the pioneering work of Nominet in the split registry/registrar model). As an original member of the IAHC who pushed for this, there are times, five years later, when I wonder whether the regulatory costs of mandating portability and overseeing a large number of competing registrars are worth it.

3:09:14 PM    Google It!