RFC 3601 (rfc3601) - Page 2 of 10

Text String Notation for Dial Sequences and Global Switched Telephone Network (GSTN) / E

RFC 3601       Dial Sequences and GSTN / E.164 Addresses  September 2003


   This notation is a fully compatible compendium of existing notations,
   and should be used in all specifications needing a text string
   representation of a Dial Sequence.

   Although the commonly called "telephone numbers" are normally used to
   generate a Dial Sequence when establishing a connection, the full
   abstract E.164 addresses [2], i.e., the universal addressing on the
   Global Switched Telephone Network (GSTN), have further elements which
   cannot be dialled.  Thus abstract E.164 addresses cannot be fully
   converted into a Dial Sequence or fully represented using this
   notation.

1.1.  Terminology and Syntax conventions

   In this document the formal definitions are described using ABNF
   syntax, as defined in [3].  This memo also uses some of the "CORE
   DEFINITIONS" defined in "APPENDIX A - CORE" of that document.

   The key words "MUST", "MUST NOT", "REQUIRED", "SHALL", "SHALL NOT",
   "SHOULD", "SHOULD NOT", "RECOMMENDED", "MAY", and "OPTIONAL" in this
   document are to be interpreted as described in BCP 14, RFC 2119 [4].

   The following terms are also defined in this document:

      Dial Sequence:
         a series of DTMF elements and human or device "actions";

      phone-string:
         a text representation of a Dial Sequence;

      GSTN address:  a commonly called "telephone number" on the GSTN,
         i.e., a diallable subset of an E.164 abstract address or any
         private numbering schema diallable address;

      gstn-phone:
         a text representation of a GSTN address;

      subaddr-string:
         a text representation of a GSTN subaddress (which includes ISDN
         subaddresses [2] and T.33 subaddresses [5]);

      post-dial:
         a text representation of a post dialling sequence.








Allocchio                   Standards Track