[LINK] Fears for telephone number system

[David Lochrin]

On Monday 25 October 2010 15:06, Bernard Robertson-Dunn (quoting the SMH) wrote:

> 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.

Broadly speaking, yes.

> 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.

My understanding is that any organisation providing a telephone service must follow the Australian numbering rules published by ACMA.  It would be possible to hijack these numbers, locate the subscriber anywhere, then use the 'net to provide connectivity, but that would be highly illegal.  Furthermore, the subscriber could not be called using any service other than that of the rogue carrier.

But maybe there's something I don't understand going on here...

David