Ofcom, the UK communications regulator, has received £700,000 from the government to investigate the use of blockchain to manage UK phone numbers. The organization plans to run trials between now and April 2020 with industry, universities and other providers.
At present, there are roughly one billion landline numbers available in the UK, either in use or allocated.
Ofcom allocates numbers to telecom operators in blocks, and providers manage porting numbers when a user wants to take their number from one operator to another. Current systems will struggle as the infrastructure moves from analog to Internet Protocol or IP-based networks.
Porting numbers is currently painful for customers, so Ofcom envisages a new system making that easier. They also aim to lower regulatory and business costs and increase the industry’s agility. Plus there’s the potential to manage nuisance calls and reduce fraud. There’s an ancillary benefit that those involved will acquire blockchain skills.
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