Contract to run “telephone number registry” is out for bid.

A partner of Telnic has a similar target. Could it be good or bad for .tel?

Neustar:

Its business was built off of a single contract to administer the North American Numbering Plan. The simplest way to describe this is a registry for phone numbers.

Much like a domain name registry, this system enables the routing of phone calls. All telecom companies in North America that offer public services have to tap into the system to route customer calls.

www.domainnamewire.com/2013/10/04/neustar-faces-its-verisign-moment

Interesting bridging vision, but we are not talking about same bridge over same troubled waters.

NEUSTAR does HAVE a business contract under FCC to the US mobile telecom industry, and does OPERATE it today, to provide central database services about MSISDN / IMSI , precisely to provide mobile operators realtime information about to which network a mobile phone number and ID data "details" attached (as it might have possibly migrated towards some other MNO3 after being initially issued by an incumbent MNO2 , due to Mobile Number Portability  capabilities and desire of end user to migrate from operator' s initial contract plan at MNO2)  .

They provide compulsory services required by MNOs as a consequence of Number Portability introduced .  Although it seems clear that MNOs, (and their investors) might lobby to reduce their costs, at the same time they are dependant on Neustar services on a daily basis (under the role granted to Neustar so far ).
Possibly NEUSTAR will have newly hard time to justify and maintain high margins, but  NSA in the back office will possibly help to keep things as they are, except private margins. So IMHO very little chance in the long run in 2015 to see a change in role of Neustar towards US telecom industry over Portability databases, possibly eroding margins, but still some room about it... while Neustar has already other businesses developing in geo analytics & marketing) .

Where is the bridge ?
Indeed , potentially, release of all numeric long numbers might be seen by some MNOs heavily dependant on prepaid market (as opposite to postpaid plans), as an interesting alternative to Customer retention existing tools and Loyalty incentives for subscribers : while a prepaid user can migrate its "phone number" (generally 8 digits and more ) from one network to another , they might think twice quitting their initial operator based on Mobile number Portability if this operator had earlier the smart idea to have pushed towards its customer (and managed on behalf of him ) a personal web ID attached to said ... portabled mobile number .

So the bridge to dot TEL and all numeric dot TELs , might be rather on mobile telcos possibly re examining about available counter measures and "smart" loyalty incentives towards end users or enterprise markets , on how to limit impact of Portability on their revenues, by pushing mobile subscribers to register their phone number on dot TEL under their umbrella, possibly then involving potential friendly wholesale plans of all-numeric TELs from TELnic to MNOs.

Another path would be also to develop in this perspective more tight relations between Neustar and TELnic, for Neustar to "offer" and support somehow  additionnal opportunities for US telcos . 

In both case TELnic should hire also some lobbyist and strategic marketing ressources to build that bridge, as they could do also for promoting IMEI usecases of all numeric (with 15-16 digits) dot TELs  for SMARTPHONE and PHABLETS unique ID registration over dot TEL.

( More insider ressource about Neustar stock picking issue
http://www.thestreet.com/story/12058290/3/why-neustar-could-fall.html )