So this is Opt-in ENUM."

Aren't these the same people who are telling the FCC that they won't use a lot of numbers, they're not widely deployed, and they're only an information service?

We are also told, "What is now important for the industry to consider is that there will be a variety of policies and procedures necessary to make sure that the ENUM system here in the United States and around the world maintains the security and integrity of phone numbers."

I have worked toward the same end, so the authors of this article (there are two) have my vote until they take you, the reader, to never-never land:

"Here in the United States, the U.S. ENUM Forum has been established by a variety of companies in the telecommunications and Internet related industries to discuss and make recommendations on how ENUM should deploy. And the U.S. government has issued a clear statement of direction that it believes the United States should participate in ENUM and it is actively soliciting comments and input from industry and interested parties."

As a founding member of the U.S. ENUM Forum I witnessed it reject several Verizon service integrity contributions before finalizing its U.S. Implementation Report, firmly entrenching it without one.

The U.S. government signed off on that report with the clear knowledge that it lacked any statement of service integrity.

It then issued a clear statement of direction that it believes the United States should participate in ENUM, and it is actively soliciting comments and input from industry and interested parties. From where I sit, interested parties will likely, primarily be ENUM Forum -- champions of no service integrity.

The articles goes on, "No one has to use ENUM. It is not a requirement for Internet telephony or any other service; rather, ENUM is a technology that consumers or enterprises may choose to use in order to facilitate communications over IP networks."

What a relief! But read the not-so-fine print:

"The process of ENUM registration may be part of a traditional sale of a PBX system or hosted IP telephony service from a carrier. That company would inform you that it would, on your behalf and with your consent, register your telephone number within the ENUM system."

So this is Opt-in ENUM!

Reader beware, I'll now be called conspiracy theorist - after all ... taking a great leap of faith ... your consent has been obtained, so what am I going on about? ENUM - It's All In The Consent takes a look at how informed your consent might be. (If it's not that informed, how opt-in is it, really?)

I take no great joy in saying that I have repeatedly predicted what we now see playing out. The titles below reflect TWO BIG RED FLAGS:

See ENUM - It's All In The Numbers

See ENUM - It's All In The Consent