With the release of its first of a series of issues papers, the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) today signalled it intends to shake up the Numbering Plan, which sets out the rules for the use and administration of telephone numbers in the country.

According to the communications regulator, "The increasing use of mobiles, the impact of VoIP and the very wide utilisation of capped plans and bundling marketing practices are posing important questions for the way traditional telephone numbers are managed.

The Numbering Plan was last substantively reviewed in the lead up to 1997, when mobile phones were being introduced and Australia moved to 10 digit phone numbers.

'Numbering is a key issue as we move to a more converged world,' said ACMA Chairman Chris Chapman.

'While the existing Numbering Plan has served Australia extremely well, it is now starting to fray around the edges. Many of its features date back well over 10 years, during which time there has been tremendous change in the telecommunications and broadband market.'

The issues paper looks at the underlying structure of the Numbering Plan and several areas where service evolution is already putting pressure on traditional numbering-based approaches.

For instance, VoIP (and other broadband-enabled services) now make it relatively easy to move a phone service across traditional number boundaries, a trend that is likely to increase as telephone services become broadband applications.

Charging based on location and distance is declining in relative importance as many consumers move to bundled and capped plans.

Mobile phones are increasingly the preferred device for phone calls, rather than landline phones (which phenomena raises questions about the treatment of calls to 1800 and 13 phone numbers, where mobile callers incur a higher charge, meaning that they are not free or 'local rate'-which charges are significant now that there are many more mobile than fixed services).

'The pace of change is if anything picking up. It is possible that the service provision environment may look significantly different in just a few years,' Mr Chapman said.

'This will enable us to take full advantage of the many exciting new products, services and opportunities coming over the horizon, while ensuring appropriate safeguards for all users.

'I am determined we deal with this complex, but vital issue now so that we and our stakeholders have a keen awareness of this issue and hopefully a useful roadmap, as we all head into the broadbanded, fully digital world.'

The ACMA has commenced a work program that looks at various aspects of numbering and the Numbering Plan. It will be progressively releasing four papers over the coming months.