On Tue, 3 Aug 1999, Ivan Pope wrote:
> > On Mon, 2 Aug 1999, Ivan Pope wrote:
> >
> > > We believe that restrictive ccTLD policies are
> > anti-competitive within
> > > Europe.
>
> And Jim Dixon replied:
>
> > I think that few readers will gather from this that Ivan is one of the
> > directors of Nominet, the .UK registry.
> >
> > Exactly who is the "we" in this sentence? Are you saying
> > that Nominet's
> > policies are anti-competitive?
>
> I think Jim is being a bit unfair here.
I don't think so.
> I post with a NetNames signature. I
> work for NetNames. I am a non-executive director of Nominet. If I ever post
> with my Nominet director hat on I would make it very clear I was doing this.
Few people reading this are likely to be aware that you are a director
of Nominet. Unless the reader understands that you are a director of
the .UK registry, he or she is very likely to interpret what you said
as applying to all of the ccTLD registries of Europe.
> In this instance the 'we' clearly refers to NetNames.
> Also, I clearly state that 'restrictive ccTLD policies are
> anti-competitive'. Which implies that we believe that non-restrictive
> policies are not anti-competitive. Which would lead you to the conclusion
> that I believe Nominet to be non-restrictive.
While there might be a certain logic to what you say, I think that it
is exceedingly unlikely that anyone would come to this conclusion
after reading what you wrote.
> As Nominet has over 1000
> members, no restriction on who can become a member and participate, and no
> restrictions on who can register a domain name, it would be hard to make a
> case that there was any sort of anti-competitive behaviour going on. Unlike
> some European ccTLD registries.
Of course. You and I agree that the policies of some European governments
and some EU ccTLD registries are unlawful because they discriminate
against companies and individuals from other member states of the EU.
Because the national government either colludes in or turns a blind eye
towards these practices, victims of these practices (such as Netnames)
have good grounds for complaints to the EU competition authorities
(DG IV).
However, separate complaints need to be made in regard to each of the
ccTLD registries concerned, because these are separate entities, each
following different policies under different national laws and
regulations. And unfortunately, given the small size of the registries
concerned, it is unlikely that DG IV is likely to be able to afford the
investment necessary to take action.
NSI is of course a different proposition. Its market in Europe is
relatively large and it is a foreign commercial company operating a
monopoly within the European Union. In short, it's an easy target.
My usual disclaimer: I don't think that the Commission should be taking
action against NSI at this time. I think that DG IV has been given bad
advice by elements elsewhere in the Commission who have a vested interest
in ICANN.
--
Jim Dixon Managing Director
VBCnet GB Ltd http://www.vbc.net tel +44 117 929 1316
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Member of Council Telecommunications Director
Internet Services Providers Association EuroISPA EEIG
http://www.ispa.org.uk http://www.euroispa.org
tel +44 171 976 0679 tel +32 2 503 22 65
