Nick, We (INEGroup) are in complete agreement with you regarding the accurate perception that the ICANN is operating in a CLOSED and unrepresentative manner to the Stakeholder/user community. In fact from many of Esther Dysons own public statements she does not believe that such a community exists. To us anyway, this shows a very unenlightened attitude and view. She seems to be of a single mindset. We feel this is both in stark disagreement with the requirements and precepts of the White Paper, as well as dangerous to the future of the internet. That other concern I have with such articles as the one mentioned here from the NY Times is that eh ICANN really in making these decisions without even being fully constituted in that the membership Organization is not formed yet. We would question the authority of such decision processes and the setting up of any committees until or unless the membership structure is in place..... Nick Lordi wrote: > I won't comment on the content of the article, just that it bugs me that > I have to read about this in the NY Times and not through any of the > various online media available to ICANN such as their web site or > the far too numerous email lists. > > It just reinforces my perception of the closed nature of ICANN. > > The only thing I found on the ICANN web site under "calendar of events" > http://www.icann.org/calendar.html > was an announcement that ICANN will hold a special board meeting > via telephone on Jan 17th, in which one of the topics will be > "Staff and board member reports on: the status of the Department of > Commerce/NSI plan for a Shared Registration System, including ICANN's > role in developing registrar accreditation guidelines and related > matters; supporting organization formation progress;...". I > > Note this was an announcement, when one checks the "Notes and Minutes" URL, > http://www.icann.org/notes-minutes.html > there aren't any minutes posted for this Jan 17 meeting. > > Under "committees", however, it appears ICANN is setting up additional > committees in addition to its Advisory Committee on Membership, ie., per > http://www.icann.org/committee.html > Advisory Committee on Independent Review, > Governmental Advisory Committee, > DNS Root Server System Advisory Committee. > > Once again, nothing is listed under the "announcements" URL > http://www.icann.org/press.html > about these new committees, or the results of the Jan 17th board meeting. > > Nick > > --------- > > attached from: > > http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/99/01/cyber/articles/22domain.html > > ------------ > > NY Times, January 22, 1999 > > Lottery May Select Companies to Run Domain-Name Registration > > By JERI CLAUSING > > The nonprofit board charged with opening the Internet's lucrative > domain-name registration business to competition is leaning toward > an international lottery to pick the five companies that will get > the first shot at ending the government-sanctioned monopoly held by > Network Solutions Inc., the board's chairman said. > > Esther Dyson, interim chairman of the Internet Corporation > for Assigned Names and Numbers, said this week that she > expected the selection process to be complete and that the > registry for the three most popular top-level > domains -- .com, .net and .org -- would be open to > competition by the end of April. > > Since 1993, Network Solutions, based in Herndon, Va., > has had the exclusive worldwide right to assign Internet > addresses that end in any of those three-letter > suffixes. To date, it has assigned some 3 million > addresses, charging $70 apiece. > > This monopoly has allowed it to realize phenomenal > growth. Its net income the first nine months of 1998 > grew threefold, to $7.5 million, or 45 cents a share, > compared with $2.5 million, or 20 cents a share, for the > first nine months of 1997. On Jan. 5, it announced plans > for both a stock split and a secondary offering of 4.58 > million shares. > > Ms. Dyson said that the board, which was taking over the > day-to-day administration of the Internet numbering and > addressing system from the government, was assembling a > panel of 10 experts to work with Network Solutions on > the technical aspects of opening its registry to > competitors. The board will also draft criteria for > companies that wish to compete in the system, she said. > > "If more than five apply, which is very likely, we need > a way to pick five. We will probably hold a lottery," > she said, adding that special provisions would have to > be made to insure geographic diversity "so that they're > not all from North America or not all from Europe." > > The initial "threshold" for applicants will be quite > high, Ms. Dyson said, "to make sure they are credible > players, since in the long run the market will take care > of people who are not credible." > > - ------------------------- > > Eventually, scores of companies around the world are > expected to enter the domain-registration business. > > - ------------------------- > > Eventually, scores of companies around the world > are expected to enter the domain-registration business. > But the board must decide a number of key issues before > full-scale competition begins, among them how to structure > three supporting organizations, including the crucial > central group that will make recommendations on domain name > and registration policies. > > But Network Solutions has not been sitting around > waiting for the end. Just before Christmas, its stock > prices tripled to an all-time high of $172.25 after it > announced important alliances with the Netscape > Communications Corp. and Yahoo. With a government > guarantee that it will still be a registrar once > competition is introduced, it has been aggressively > building its own international network of partners to > handle registrations around the world for Network > Solutions. As of Thursday, the company said it had > signed partnership agreements with 85 companies worldwide. > > Friday, the Information Technology Association of > America is sponsoring a meeting in Washington to > encourage a compromise on draft bylaws for the > supporting group that will recommend how to further open > competition in the registration business and when and > how many new top-level domains should be added to the Internet. > > A number of draft bylaws have been proposed, with > various groups arguing over whether trademark holders > and big corporations would have too much control and how > this new Internet government would be financed. > > The introduction of competition in the registration > system will mark the first noticeable difference for > consumers in the years-long process by which the > government is handing control of the Internet to the > private sector. Ms. Dyson's board remains under the > oversight of the Commerce Department. > > The Clinton administration's decision nearly two years ago > to get out of the Internet business was spurred in part by > complaints from around the world that Network Solutions had an > unfair monopoly on the domain-registration business. > > Last year, the company reported record numbers of registrations > and record profits. Analysts said this week that they > expected revenues to hit $90 million for 1998, compared > with revenues of $6 million, $18 million and $45 million, > respectively, the previous three years. > > Network Solutions' shares closed Thursday at $169.25, > down $6.25 on a day that saw big hits across the board > in technology stocks and a drop of almost 3 percent in > the Nasdaq composite index. > > Last year, Network Solutions registered about 1.9 > million new domain names, nearly double its 1997 total > of 960,000 names. Its hold on the lucrative registration > business has made it one of the high-flying Internet > stocks on Wall Street in recent months, despite the > imminent loss of its lucrative monopoly. > > Once new registrars are introduced, the company will be > obligated to transfer registrations of addresses ending > in .com, .net and .org to its competitors if customers > decide they would rather deal with one of the new companies. > > But many analysts anticipate that the company will > maintain its dominance, in part because the process for > moving Internet governance to the private sector and > opening the registration business has taken so long, > giving the company much-needed time to diversify and > solidify its leadership. > > The Clinton administration initially expected to move > administration of the Internet to the private sector > much more quickly. But after seeking public comment in > July 1997 on the best way to do that, it discovered that > the issue was highly contentious, as corporations, > individuals and governments around the world jockeyed > for a say in who would control the new nonprofit group. > > -------------------------------------------------------- > > Related Sites > These sites are not part of The New York Times on the Web, > and The Times has no control over their content or availability. > > * Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers > > * International Telecommunication Union > > * Network Solutions > > * nu domain > > * www.domainstats.com , Domain Statistics > > * Internet Assigned Numbers Authority > > * Esther Dyson > > - - -------------------------------------------------------- > Jeri Clausing at [EMAIL PROTECTED] welcomes your comments > and suggestions. > - - -------------------------------------------------------- > > Copyright 1999 The New York Times Company Regards, -- Jeffrey A. Williams CEO/DIR. Internet Network Eng/SR. Java/CORBA Development Eng. Information Network Eng. Group. INEG. INC. E-Mail [EMAIL PROTECTED] Contact Number: 972-447-1894 Address: 5 East Kirkwood Blvd. Grapevine Texas 75208 __________________________________________________ To receive the digest version instead, send a blank email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] To SUBSCRIBE forward this message to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To UNSUBSCRIBE, forward this message to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Problems/suggestions regarding this list? Email [EMAIL PROTECTED] ___END____________________________________________
