The GSM Association last week silently created a whole new mobile internet, on the back of an agreement with American company NeuStar. It will offer Root Domain Name System (DNS) services to more than 680 global GSM mobile operators.

NeuStar, which in the past managed local number portability throughout North America, can now register domain names under the suffixes "gprs" and "3gppnetwork.org".

The DNS directory - a white pages of IP-numbers, shared among global operators - aims to become the definitive source for GSM operators to access shared DNS services. The agreement will make it easier for operators to provide roaming IP data services from GSM phones, making separate peering agreements between carriers obsolete. Basically, NeuStar will act as a clearinghouse for these peering agreements.

In the future, consumers can more easily instant-message each other or make "push-to-talk" walkie-talkie-like calls across networks from their phones. At present, interoperability is still a problem in the mobile space. Non GSMA members, however, can’t register the suffixes "gprs" and "3gppnetwork.org", as NeuStar operates a private DNS server. NeuStar will also not use the ENUM protocol, which was designed to marry DNS and regular phone numbers.®

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