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Re: [LUG] eNum ... Comments?

 

Gordon Henderson wrote:
>
> Sorry for the indulgence, but I just want to "test this out" on the 
> DCGLUG folks out there to judge some feedback...
>
> eNnum for those who don't know is a DNS service which at it's simplest 
> lets you get a URI in return for feeding in a phone number. (Just like 
> you'd get a name for feeding in an IP address). The URI in question 
> can be used directly by a lot of standards based VoIP phones and 
> services - the net effect is that if I have my landline registered 
> with enum and I also have a VoIP way to call my landline, anyone in 
> the world can feed the number into the enum registry and get a VoIP 
> URI and can then call me via VoIP for free.
>
> The URIs look like web addresses - eg. sip:1234@xxxxxxxxxx might 
> describe my phone.
>
> Great, huh?
>
> But what if the spammers get hold of it - they can get/guess your 
> phone numbers and if my VoIP server allows anonymous calls to come 
> from unregistered sources, then it's a spammers delight! Imagine 
> robots all over the world placing calls to everyone who is VoIP 
> accessible for free and playing adverts at them....
>
> Anyway, I've just been contacted by someone trying to get me onto 
> their reseller program so I can register all my clients numbers, etc. 
> with enum and you know what, call me cynical, but I'm not convinced. A 
> recent search told me it would cost up to £250 per registration and 
> that's a lot of money to let spammers call me for free...
>
> Potentially, it's a boon to bypass the telcos of the world, but I'm 
> really not convinced myself...
>
> So just wondering what the thoughts are from the south west...
>
> Gordon
Think about it carefully!
Why do you want a phone number? You only need a number to connect to 
legacy systems. You can be VOIP://mysubnumber.mydomain.com and behind 
that 'phone number' another whole phonesystem can exist.
You (probably) already have everything you need to VOIP to anyone in the 
internet with VOIP. And using Skype you can pay a fortune to connect to 
people on the old systems rather than talk for free.
VOIP - Voice Over Internet Protocol: using the internet to make calls.
You have the internet - you don't need some thieving idiot trying to 
sell you something you've actually already got.
Remember its VOIP - not Voice Over Internet And SomeOne Whos Charging 
You For Providing Nothing.
Tom te tom te tom


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