10 October 2000

To: IFAST Members

From: Fred Gaechter, IFAST Chairman

Re: Revision of IRM Assignment Guidelines to Allow for the Intra-Country Sharing of Assigned IRMs.

 

At the IFAST14 meeting, in Lima Peru, last week, a contribution from TCO Centro Oeste Celular (Brasil) requested that the IFAST authorize the sharing of assigned IRMs. The specific request was with regard to the uniqueness of the Brasilian numbering plan and the ability for all competing service providers to have access to the same IRM resources in a common serving area. It was agreed, by the IFAST, based on this contribution, to authorize such sharing and to revise the IRM Assignment Guidelines to reflect this agreement. This agreement allows for the sharing of assigned IRM resources solely on an intra-country basis, i.e., an IRM can not, at this time, be shared across country boundaries. It is also agreed that the resource sharing will occur only on a 1-digit basis, i.e., the entities sharing a specific IRM will each be assigned a first digit following the 4-digit IRM. This combination of 5 digits (IRM + shared digit) will identify the assignees network.

The potential for expanding this agreement to not only share all IRMs - in effect expanding the IRM format to 5 digits - but also to allow the sharing to occur across country borders, is for further study in the context of the potential future exhaust of the current 4-digit IRM format.

The IFAST was careful to only authorize the sharing of IRMs on an intra-country basis, not mandate such sharing. Whether such a sharing is to occur within a country is a national matter to be determined by bilateral service provider negotiations or, if necessary, regulatory edict. Consequently, the assignment process for this additional digit within a country is also a national matter. However, when such assignments are made it is necessary that the administrative entity making the assignments inform the IRM administrator of any specific assignments so that they can be recorded in the IRM assignment records and posted on the IFAST web site. Without this information being made available networks will not recognize the IRMs and international roaming will not be accommodated based on them.

The IRM Assignment Guidelines will be revised to reflect this agreement and will be reviewed and approved at the IFAST15 meeting in January 2001. The implementation of shared IRMs on an intra-country basis is authorized immediately by the IFAST and need not await the final approval of the revised Assignment Guidelines.

Any questions regarding this IFAST agreement should be referred to me at +1 732 699 5500 or at fredgaechter@monmouth.com.

Best Regards,

Fred Gaechter

IFAST Chairman

Cc: Mr. E. Matarazzo – ANATEL (Brasil)