European Telephony Numbering Space
Encyclopedia
In the interest in forming a trans-Europe
numbering plan
as an option (or then future movement) for anyone needing multi-national European telephone
presence, the ITU
allocated country calling code +388 as a subdivided, catch-all container for such services. This was designated the European Telephony Numbering Space or ETNS.
Although some ETNS numbers were assigned, few phone companies supported connecting calls to ETNS.
Because of limited support, and the belief that the need for ETNS was superseded by URI
s, ETNS was suspended in 2005 and abolished in 2008. All ETS numbers were cancelled by the beginning of 2010. The +388 code is scheduled to be reclaimed by the ITU at the end of 2010.
See also list of country calling codes.
on top of all the pre-existing, state-bounded country codes of the countries in Europe. Among "special" country codes, +388 was unique in that it was both supranational yet geographically bounded (other special codes, such as +881
and freephone +800, are completely international).
Instead of being subdivided geographically as in a typical numbering plan, the ETNS was intended to be subdivided by type of service or customer. It would therefore not have been possible to reverse engineer
the location of an owner of an ETNS number based on the characteristics of the phone number. The numbers were also not allocated in blocks to individual carrier companies and were therefore intended to be portable. Carriers needed to have ETNS translation capability, or routing agreement with a carrier that did, in order for its customers to successfully call ETNS numbers.
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
numbering plan
Telephone numbering plan
A telephone numbering plan is a type of numbering scheme used in telecommunications to allocate telephone numbers to subscribers and to route telephone calls in a telephone network. A closed numbering plan, such as found in North America, imposes a fixed total length to numbers...
as an option (or then future movement) for anyone needing multi-national European telephone
Telephone
The telephone , colloquially referred to as a phone, is a telecommunications device that transmits and receives sounds, usually the human voice. Telephones are a point-to-point communication system whose most basic function is to allow two people separated by large distances to talk to each other...
presence, the ITU
International Telecommunication Union
The International Telecommunication Union is the specialized agency of the United Nations which is responsible for information and communication technologies...
allocated country calling code +388 as a subdivided, catch-all container for such services. This was designated the European Telephony Numbering Space or ETNS.
Although some ETNS numbers were assigned, few phone companies supported connecting calls to ETNS.
Because of limited support, and the belief that the need for ETNS was superseded by URI
Uniform Resource Identifier
In computing, a uniform resource identifier is a string of characters used to identify a name or a resource on the Internet. Such identification enables interaction with representations of the resource over a network using specific protocols...
s, ETNS was suspended in 2005 and abolished in 2008. All ETS numbers were cancelled by the beginning of 2010. The +388 code is scheduled to be reclaimed by the ITU at the end of 2010.
See also list of country calling codes.
Allocation area
Geographically the +388 "country" code was an overlayOverlay
Overlay may refer to:*Overlay architecture, term used to describe ‘event architecture’ and relates to the temporary elements that supplement existing buildings and infrastructure to enable the operation of major sporting events or festivals....
on top of all the pre-existing, state-bounded country codes of the countries in Europe. Among "special" country codes, +388 was unique in that it was both supranational yet geographically bounded (other special codes, such as +881
Global Mobile Satellite System
The Global Mobile Satellite System is a general term referring to the selection of satellite phone providers available to private customers...
and freephone +800, are completely international).
Instead of being subdivided geographically as in a typical numbering plan, the ETNS was intended to be subdivided by type of service or customer. It would therefore not have been possible to reverse engineer
Reverse engineering
Reverse engineering is the process of discovering the technological principles of a device, object, or system through analysis of its structure, function, and operation...
the location of an owner of an ETNS number based on the characteristics of the phone number. The numbers were also not allocated in blocks to individual carrier companies and were therefore intended to be portable. Carriers needed to have ETNS translation capability, or routing agreement with a carrier that did, in order for its customers to successfully call ETNS numbers.
Country Groups
Specifically, ETNS was intended to be only one of a potentially larger set of European "country groups" participating in a shared regional overlay numbering plan. The only country group that comprised the ETNS was given an identification code of 3, which came after the +388 country code.Services
After the country group identification code, the number space was divided according to service, indicated by a European Service Identity code. The table lists the service designations (country code, identification code, and ESI code) available under ETNS:European Service Identity codes
- Public service application: 3883 1
- Customer service application: 3883 3
- Corporate networks: 3883 5
- Personal numbering: 3883 7
External links
- ETNS Registrar
- European Radiocommunications Office
- ARCOME presentation: "ETNS project and corresponding field trial description"
- World Telephone Numbering Guide's information about European regional numbering