ACMA foreshadows big changes to telephone numbering

Stuart Corner
Monday, 28 November 2011 15:02

IT Policy - Regulation

The ACMA has released for industry consultation a set of proposals for a radical overhaul of the telephone numbering system, saying the system is under significant pressure as a result of fundamental changes in networks, technologies, services and consumer behaviour.

The proposals canvassed in paper, Telephone Numbering: Future Directions  span a range of changes from short (12 months) to long (five years plus) term with the aim being to minimise the short term adjustment costs to industry and information costs to consumers.

The paper identifies 24 specific changes needed for numbering arrangements and eight overarching future directions the ACMA intends to use to guide the management of telephone numbering. Overall the ACMA says the formulation of its proposals has been guided by four principles:

- efficiency, to ensure the continued supply of communications services in accordance with the public interest, at least cost, even as preferences change and technologies develop over time;
- flexibility, so that the numbering plan is able to evolve over time and respond to the changing needs of the communications environment;
- resilience, so that the plan stands the test of time;
- simplicity and transparency, so that the plan;
- facilitates consumers making informed choices about their use of communications services.

One of the most radical proposals is for technical neutrality: that numbers would no longer be based on the technical characteristics of the service: for example removing the requirement that numbers beginning 04xx are solely for cellular mobile services.

The ACMA, however does plan to retain usage rules that enable users to get an indication of the cost of calls from the number. For example if 04xx numbers were permitted for satellite phones - calls to which are costly - users would get no indication of the high price of such calls from the phone number.

The last big change to telephone numbers was in the mid 1990s when the length of standard fixed telephone numbers was increased from seven, and in some cases six, to eight digits and area codes for regions smaller than states and territories were abolished.

With the number of fixed lines declining steadily, the ACMA says it "does not anticipate a need to increase the overall supply of numbers by increasing the length or otherwise changing numbers at any time in the foreseeable future."

The report also notes that, where once the telephone number was the means by which networks identified a called party and set up a connection, in the era of the Internet and Internet Protocol that is no longer the case.

However The paper says transition to alternative identifiers in the long term was outside the scope of the ACMA's work program. "These identifiers are expected to complement rather than replace telephone numbers in the short to medium term and so will not have a material effect on the numbering arrangements during this time."

The ACMA says it will "continue to observe this evolution and evaluate any need for intervention as required."

Submissions to the consultation paper are due by the end of January.