Jay and all,
Very thoughtful post and right on the mark as I see it. I only hope
that
the DOC/NTIA as well as the ICANN "Initial" and Interim board read it
with great care and consideration, as I hope others will do as well.
Jay Fenello wrote:
> Power Politics and the New Internet Order
> Copyright (c) 1999 Jay Fenello -- All Rights Reserved
>
> Yesterday, a Wall Street based Investment Research Company
> issued a strong sell/short sell recommendation on Network
> Solutions stock. It also suggested that NSI had mislead
> investors and potentially committed securities fraud.
> NSI's stock plunged in response.
>
> I believe that this is nothing more than Power Politics.
> NSI is being targeted financially, and its officers are
> being threatened with potential criminal actions. These
> tactics are being used to break NSI's resolve to fight
> for a competitive name space, and to force NSI to be
> subservient to ICANN.
>
> It reflects the huge power struggle that is occurring
> behind the scenes, over the very future of the Internet.
> This latest salvo is just the latest shot over the bow.
>
> A Historical Perspective
>
> The U.S. Government, through various defense contractors,
> started the Internet. Over time, it moved into the research
> community, finally ending up in the commercial realm. It also
> moved from a U.S. based collection of networks, to a global
> collection of networks. As these changes occurred, it out grew
> the informal methods of managing Internet resources that had
> existed before.
>
> Problems first appeared when the name space started to get
> crowded, and companies like Iperdome formed with the goal of
> bringing new domain names to market. Although Jon Postel had
> put forward several proposals to do this, a controversial
> proposal known as the gTLD-MoU was presented as the solution.
>
> The gTLD-MoU was controversial because it would have
> confiscated all generic Top Level Domains, not only from
> startups like IO Design (who had been running the .web
> registry for approximately one year), but also from Network
> Solutions. It would have established an authority control
> model of governance, and it claimed ownership over the
> entire name space.
>
> After many complaints from the Internet community, the
> U.S. Government, through Ira Magaziner, intervened with
> both the Green and White Paper processes. The result of
> these processes was the White Paper, a document that was
> surprisingly supported by virtually the entire Internet
> community.
>
> The ICANN Controversy
>
> The controversy begins with the selection of the ICANN
> Board through some secret process, and the policies that
> they are attempting to implement. This can most easily
> be seen in their proposed guidelines for prospective
> registrars.
>
> With these guidelines, ICANN has, in effect, claimed
> ownership over the entire gTLD name space. They have
> also written their contracts so that their registrars
> are completely subject to their whim. Most ironically,
> these registrars will still be subject to contracting
> with Network Solutions.
>
> How will all this work? No one knows! In fact, ICANN
> has just extended the deadline for prospective registrar
> applications. They said that the registrars have too
> many questions that have yet to be answered, little things
> like the wholesale price of a registration, and the terms
> of their contract with Network Solutions.
>
> Solving the Wrong Problem
>
> IMHO, the problems we are seeing are directly caused
> by an overly aggressive ICANN trying to break the only
> true threat to their total control over the gTLD name
> space -- namely, Network Solutions.
>
> What the spin doctors are conjuring up is a choice
> between a big, bad monopoly, and a benevolent body
> that will keep the name space fair and controlled
> for everyone (with *controlled* being the key word).
>
> Framing the issues in this way ignores the only true
> solution to this dilemma -- true competition in the
> gTLD name space.
>
> My own Assessment
>
> Having been involved in this debate for over two years,
> as the president of Iperdome [a prospective registry
> for the .per(sm) TLD], as one of the leaders of Open-RSC,
> as a member of the IFWP Steering Committee, and as an
> occasional consultant to NSI, I believe the following:
>
> NSI has consistently acted in a professional manner,
> looking out for its interests in the context of what's
> best for the Internet. They have also been supportive
> of minority positions, free markets, and bottom up
> governance as reflected in the Paris Draft and their
> court released letter to NSF suggesting competition
> in the name space.
>
> While some of their recent actions appear to be extreme,
> I suspect that they were precipitated by the circumstances
> surrounding their relationship to ICANN and the U.S.
> Government.
>
> Until I know for sure, I will reserve judgement.
>
> On the other hand, the "Investment Research Company's"
> Report sure looks like it was written by ICANN's PR firm.
> Not only does it describe the world as if ICANN already
> controls everything (and it doesn't), it presumes that
> NSI has hidden this fact from its investors (and it
> hasn't).
>
> What it does highlight is how different the world
> may look, depending on how ICANN is structured. If
> it follows the White Paper, uses a bottom-up consensus
> process, and adopts a light weight standards setting
> approach, the world will be a great place.
>
> If it follows the description as outlined in the
> analysts report, then we are all in for are very
> rocky road.
>
> Better fasten your seat belts . . .
>
> Respectfully,
>
> Jay Fenello
> President, Iperdome, Inc.
> 404-943-0524 http://www.iperdome.com
>
> [P.S. Coincidentally, it was reported in the press
> that Mike Roberts has a meeting with NSI tomorrow]
>
> Copyright (c) 1999 Jay Fenello -- All Rights Reserved
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
