Since 14 April 2005, private individuals and companies have been able to register ENUM domain names in the Swiss ENUM trial. ENUM marks a further public-minded commitment by SWITCH in the Internet environment for the benefit of the population as a whole.

ENUM stands for E164 Number Mapping and is a new directory service based on the Domain Name System (DNS). Ever since it has been possible to telephone via the Internet, people have expressed the wish to be contactable via the same number for both the conventional telephone network and VoIP. ENUM will establish a link between these two switching techniques for the very first time – since it translates telephone numbers into Internet addresses and enters these in the DNS in the same way as a conventional domain name. A new directory service is thus being offered, where each subscriber can enter their numbers for the fixed network, mobile network and value-added services. Priorities can be set for the preferred mode of contact.

SWITCH is providing the basic infrastructure for ENUM services in Switzerland. The other contributors involved are ENUM registrars, telecommunication companies and also hardware and software producers. Anyone wishing to register an ENUM domain name as part of the ENUM trial should contact one of the official registrars, OSS AG or Firstcom Group.