"Enum is designed to get around the problem that few phone keypads have an "@" key, which makes dialling an SIP address for a VoIP call tricky. "

Well, yeh, I suppose so. Or you could just use the hash key to stand in for the at sign.

Of course, while massively simpler, infinitely cheaper and vastly more reliable, that does have the disadvantage of not providing a completely spurious excuse to set up a bunch of useless registries as part of a power-grab to try and obtain monopolistic control over the emerging VoIP infrastructure.

Which I suggest is the only possible genuine motive for this otherwise utterly pointless charade.

The exact opposite of what the article states, in fact!

As for the AC who posted first, if you don't use ENUM it won't affect you, so why cry about it?

The article does not make it clear, but Nominet will manage the ENUM registry for the UK only.

e164.org (http://www.e164.org/) has been around for ages, doing just this job on a voluntary basis, with worldwide reach for the cogniscienti. All it takes is to choose the right VoIP software or hardware (ie has the facility to do enum lookups) and then get it to do its stuff on every phone call. This plethora of national enum registries is just a nuisance, not a benefit.