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© British Telecommunications plc 2017
Blockchain Technology for Industry Number Management & Portability
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NICC Open Forum7th November 2018
Phil Bone Number Management Enterprise ArchitectGirish Mahajan Number Management Solutions Architect
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Topics
Problem statementBlockchain: “Fit” with numberingProof of Concept
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Problem Statement
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Industry Number Portability: Problem Statement
Industry Number Number Number Number Port Executive Steering Port Executive Steering Port Executive Steering Port Executive Steering Group Group Group Group (NPESG), led by the Office of the Office of the Office of the Office of the TTTTelecoms Adjudicator elecoms Adjudicator elecoms Adjudicator elecoms Adjudicator (OTA2),
has a remit to strategically improve geographic number port processes and has accepted that current
processes are “unfit for purpose” for the following reasons.
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BT
Vodafone
VirginDaisy
Talk TalkKcom
Magrathea Sky
Gamma
The current bi-lateral (CP to CP) process:
• Is complex and ambiguous.
• Delivers a poor customer experience with extended lead times.
• Cannot cope with high demand.
• Is unsuited to large numbers of CPs porting numbers (c400 CPs currently).
• Is unable to support a complex porting stakeholder community.
• Does not adequately support complex porting scenarios (e.g. multi-number).
• Is unsuitable for future Fixed – Mobile convergence needs.
• Does not support “Direct Routing” call delivery to ported numbers.
The current process is “unfit for purpose”
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Number Management & CLI Authentication: Requirements
In addition to number portability, Ofcom have presented two additional use cases:
• Telephony number resource managementTelephony number resource managementTelephony number resource managementTelephony number resource management: the management of telephone number resources on allocation
to Comms Providers (CPs) and Mobile Network Operators (MNOs). Current capabilities and processes are
sub-optimal and lack automation. Issues include records inaccuracies and the need for a significant
human resource management overhead on the part of both Ofcom and CPs to administer process.
• CLI authenticationCLI authenticationCLI authenticationCLI authentication: the ability to identify and record individual telephone numbers or number ranges
deemed to be associated with known fraudulent activity in accordance with Secure Telephone Identity
Revisited (STIR) objectives. This presents a new challenge.
Although production functional requirements for these two use cases are currently unclear, a basic reference
to each has been incorporated into the blockchain “Proof of Concept” architecture (discussed later).
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Two additional use cases
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Blockchain: “Fit” with numbering
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Overview of Blockchain as a Technology Base for Number PortabilityA “Foundational” technology
“Blockchain is not a “disruptive” technologynot a “disruptive” technologynot a “disruptive” technologynot a “disruptive” technology, which can
attack a traditional business model with a lower-cost
solution and overtake incumbent firms quickly.
Blockchain is instead a foundational technologya foundational technologya foundational technologya foundational technology: it has
the potential to create new foundations for our new foundations for our new foundations for our new foundations for our
economic and social systemseconomic and social systemseconomic and social systemseconomic and social systems.”
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Marco Iansiti & Karim R. Lakhani,
Harvard Business Review 2017
Blockchain provides an alternative to traditional methods of managing industry number
management and number port process; it does not eliminate the need for the process.
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This is not about “Bitcoin”!
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We propose to use blockchain foundational fabrics that have
been developed to support industry use cases involving peer to
peer transactions that are NOT financially orientated.
The key differences over public cryptocurrency blockchain
architectures are:
• No bitcoin transactions, bitcoin mining operations nor any
direct financial incentives for completing transactions.
• As a consequence, there is no “proof of work” or “proof of
stake” requiring complex and expensive computer processing
power to crack an algorithmic “puzzle”, to create a block and
“win the prize”.
• Closed, “permissioned” participant consortium.
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Overview of Blockchain as a Technology Base for Number PortabilityExploiting the key blockchain technology concepts
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A blockchain-based number port process architecture
will exploit five of the key concepts that characterise
the technology:
1. Distributed consensus
2. The Blockchain ledger
3. Smart contracts
4. Trusted computing
5. Signature transaction verification
Participating CPs in the “closed (trusted computing) consortium” consent to transactional updates made to the digital
asset block (the telephone number) via an agreed “Smart Contract” invoked via “Private Key” access & encryption.
Updated blocks contain a “signature” to verify a transaction is valid.
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Proof Of Concept
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Blockchain for Number Portability: “Proof of Concept” (POC)As a radically different approach, we need to prove it will work
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As a radical technology, the PoC aims to showcase that blockchain, as a technology, is supportive of the
numbering use cases identified. Some of the criteria it will demonstrate includes:
• Centralised (Ofcom) Centralised (Ofcom) Centralised (Ofcom) Centralised (Ofcom) governance governance governance governance over the CP community.
• Use of digital Use of digital Use of digital Use of digital asset asset asset asset (block) (block) (block) (block) ledgeredledgeredledgeredledgered data data data data to drive smart contract logicto drive smart contract logicto drive smart contract logicto drive smart contract logic e.g. use of ledgered digital asset data
to determine number port use case scenarios and initiate porting transactions with the relevant CP.
• Ability to manipulate Ability to manipulate Ability to manipulate Ability to manipulate ledgeredledgeredledgeredledgered recordsrecordsrecordsrecords in a relational database-like manner for e.g. MIS purposes.
• Maintenance of participant profile Maintenance of participant profile Maintenance of participant profile Maintenance of participant profile characteristicscharacteristicscharacteristicscharacteristics to drive, for example, peer to peer smart contract number
port transaction logic.
• Ability to link multiple transaction steps to form a process Ability to link multiple transaction steps to form a process Ability to link multiple transaction steps to form a process Ability to link multiple transaction steps to form a process : e.g. the ability to link together the series of
transactions between a gaining and losing CP to complete the port of a number.
• “Block locking”“Block locking”“Block locking”“Block locking” i.e. ledgered asset locking during a porting order transaction between two consenting
participants.
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It’s a “Proof of Concept” not a “Prototype”!Expectations for the PoC
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• The Proof of Concept is not a prototype solution (requirements for which will have to be
agreed in detail with the various stakeholder communities).
• It is intended to trial characteristics of blockchain technology to assess its potential and
suitability for numbering.
• It provides representative use case functionality to demonstrate the potential of the
technology.
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PoC TechnologyLinux Hyperledger Fabric
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• The Proof of Concept uses open source Linux Foundation Hyperledger Fabric which has a
modular architecture that is suited to the purpose and allows some of the consenus and
participant membership characteristics of a solution to be implemented as “plug and
play”.
• As the technology is evolving rapidly, alternatives such as Etherium and Corda, for
example, will need to be evaluated in the event blockchain is the agreed way forward for
a production architecture.
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CP 4CP 4CP 4CP 4 CP 5CP 5CP 5CP 5 CP 6CP 6CP 6CP 6
CP 1CP 1CP 1CP 1 CP 2CP 2CP 2CP 2 CP 3CP 3CP 3CP 3
Distributed
Ledger
Distributed
Ledger
Distributed
LedgerDistributed
Ledger
Blockchain PoC: “Permissioned” Participants
Distributed
Ledger
Distributed
Ledger
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Ofcom will assign Ofcom will assign Ofcom will assign Ofcom will assign
and control CP and control CP and control CP and control CP
access to the access to the access to the access to the
private private private private
blockchainblockchainblockchainblockchain
consortium. consortium. consortium. consortium.
Distrib
ute
d
Led
ge
r
CP 7CP 7CP 7CP 7
CP 8CP 8CP 8CP 8
PPPParticipating CPs articipating CPs articipating CPs articipating CPs
do not necessarily do not necessarily do not necessarily do not necessarily
require require require require
ownership of a ownership of a ownership of a ownership of a
ledger “instance”.ledger “instance”.ledger “instance”.ledger “instance”.
Steps:Steps:Steps:Steps:
1.1.1.1. OOOOffffccccoooommmm ppppeeeerrrrmmmmiiiittttssss aaaa CCCCPPPP ttttoooo jjjjooooiiiinnnn tttthhhheeee
porting consortium.porting consortium.porting consortium.porting consortium.
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CP 4CP 4CP 4CP 4 CP 5CP 5CP 5CP 5 CP 6CP 6CP 6CP 6
CP 1CP 1CP 1CP 1 CP 2CP 2CP 2CP 2 CP 3CP 3CP 3CP 3
Exported Exported Exported Exported NumberNumberNumberNumber
Distributed
Ledger
Distributed
Ledger
Distributed
LedgerDistributed
Ledger
Blockchain PoC: Distributed Ledger
Distributed
Ledger
Distributed
Ledger
Portable
DN
“Digital
Asset”
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Smart ContractSmart ContractSmart ContractSmart Contract
Distrib
ute
d
Led
ge
r
CP 7CP 7CP 7CP 7
CP 8CP 8CP 8CP 8
Example:Example:Example:Example:
CP 3 imports a number from CP 2CP 3 imports a number from CP 2CP 3 imports a number from CP 2CP 3 imports a number from CP 2
Steps:Steps:Steps:Steps:
1.1.1.1. OOOOffffccccoooommmm ppppeeeerrrrmmmmiiiittttssss aaaa CCCCPPPP ttttoooo jjjjooooiiiinnnn tttthhhheeee
porting consortium.porting consortium.porting consortium.porting consortium.
2.2.2.2. Raise the porting order and Raise the porting order and Raise the porting order and Raise the porting order and
ccccoooommmmpppplllleeeetttteeee tttthhhheeee eeeexxxxppppoooorrrrtttt,,,, uuuuppppddddaaaattttiiiinnnngggg
the digital asset.the digital asset.the digital asset.the digital asset.
3.3.3.3. DDDDiiiissssttttrrrriiiibbbbuuuutttteeee uuuuppppddddaaaatttteeeessss ttttoooo eeeeaaaacccchhhh lllleeeeddddggggeeeerrrr
instance via messaging.instance via messaging.instance via messaging.instance via messaging.
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Blockchain: Architecture Principles: APIs
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PoC: Physical Architecture
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Set-up
Peer
(Intermediate)
Certificate
Authority
API
OrdererEndorsing
Peer
Web UI
Single Ubuntu machine with docker containers
OF
CO
M
Step 3
Groups endorsed
transactions into blocks
and broadcasts them to
all (OFCOM only). More
than one instance of the
endorsed transaction
must exist for the orderer
to do this.
Step 1
Broadcasts transactions
initiated by the
participant.
Step 4
Maintains the ledger
based on blocks
broadcast by the orderer.
Step 2
Evaluates a transaction from a peer, endorses its validity
and re-broadcasts (meaning several instances of the
endorsed transaction may be broadcast).
Responsible for
identity
management; it
provides peers with
certificates.
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Further Investigative Work
The Proof of Concept exercise will provide visibility and evidence that blockchain technology can be used and adapted to
accommodate the proposed numbering use cases, but next steps will need to include further investigative work to build a more
complete understanding of the technology and use case implementation. Some of these areas are as follows:
• NonNonNonNon----transactional Data Access & Downloadtransactional Data Access & Downloadtransactional Data Access & Downloadtransactional Data Access & Download: the ability for a stakeholder to download ledgered digital asset data either in real-
time or batched download, outside of a formal blockchain transaction between two parties, will be needed for different
purposes e.g. to facilitate network switching updates for Direct Routing.
• Volume MessagingVolume MessagingVolume MessagingVolume Messaging: updates to multiple assets may generate significant messaging traffic within a distributed architecture.
We need to understand how to structure our data to minimise message generation and any constraints on message volumes
and message payload size based on predicted demand.
• Other NonOther NonOther NonOther Non----functionalsfunctionalsfunctionalsfunctionals: the need for stress testing. The likely need to support approaching 1B number assets requires
certainty that transaction and messaging volumes can be accommodated.
• Multiple asset updates per transactionMultiple asset updates per transactionMultiple asset updates per transactionMultiple asset updates per transaction: some scenarios will require update of multiple digital assets in context of a single
transaction e.g. for a multi-number port order. The optimal approach to achieving this needs to be established.
• Restrictions on “Read” Data AccessRestrictions on “Read” Data AccessRestrictions on “Read” Data AccessRestrictions on “Read” Data Access: blockchain is inherently based on a shared participant visibility of ledgered data. We need
to better understand options for controlling read ledger access (both the assets that can be viewed and data attributes
within an asset), based on a participant’s role, although inherently, solutions will be designed on the shared visibility
principle.
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Blockchain: Technical Evaluation
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