[LINK] Fears for telephone number system

[Bernard Robertson-Dunn]

<brd>
Solving one problem nearly always creates other problems.

cf the battery issue as well as the one described below.
</brd>


Fears for telephone number system
Lucy Battersby
SMH
October 23, 2010
http://www.smh.com.au/technology/technology-news/fears-for-telephone-number-system-20101022-16xw8.html

AUSTRALIA'S telephone numbering system could be thrown into chaos as 
more calls are made on mobile networks and more people use 
internet-based telephone services that do not require geographic 
information to connect a call.

The technology changes place more stress on emergency services, which 
receive geographic information from fixed-line calls to triple-O, and 
businesses that send fixed calls to 13-numbers to the nearest shopfront.

The regulator responsible for the numbering plan, the Australian 
Communications and Media Authority, is expected to start consultations 
in coming weeks to avoid problems and amend the plan.

Area codes and local identifiers such as 03 for Victoria and 9836 for 
Camberwell are used by the copper telephone network as a map to send 
calls to certain states and exchanges, with the last four digits sending 
the call to a particular port within the exchange.

But telephone calls made over a fibre broadband connection, known within 
the industry as voice over internet protocol (VOIP), are sent to an 
internet address and not a physical location. This means it is 
technically possible for telephone numbers to be taken from any location 
in Australia to another. It is a similar concept to email, which is sent 
to an internet address, not a geographic location.

All telephone calls will be sent over the internet when the national 
broadband network is built to replace the copper telephone network.

While it may be convenient for consumers to keep the same fixed-line 
number permanently, it could create chaos if households with area codes 
are allowed to take their number when moving interstate.

Currently about 2 per cent of fixed-line telephone calls are made using 
VOIP services.

-- 

Regards
brd

Bernard Robertson-Dunn
Canberra Australia
email:	 brd at iimetro.com.au
website: www.drbrd.com