PAB Domain plan a step closer

From: Sascha Ignjatovic (sascha@isoc.vienna.org)
Date: Thu Oct 22 1998 - 06:20:48 PDT


http://www.news.com/News/Item/0,4,27757,00.html

                 Domain plan a step closer
                 By Janet Kornblum
                 Staff Writer, CNET News.com
                 October 20, 1998, 3:05 p.m. PT

                 The United States government today took an
                 important step toward transferring its power over
                 the Internet to the private sector.

                 Just four days after the death of Net luminary Jon
                 Postel, the Commerce Department's National
                 Telecommunications and Information
                 Administration gave the nod to a plan presented by
                 Postel, who headed the Internet Assigned Numbers
                 Authority (IANA).

                 In a letter to the Internet Assigned Numbers
                 Authority, the National Telecommunications and
                 Information Administration said the government had
                 reviewed and essentially approved its plan to set up
                 a new private corporation to run the domain name
                 system--the underpinnings of the Internet, said
                 Becky Burr, associate administrator of the agency.

                 That corporation--the Internet Corporation for
                 Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN)--would
                 be run by a board of 19 people. The board will be
                 chosen by an initial group of nine people, including
                 members from Europe and Asia.

                 Burr said that comments submitted to the agency
                 about the plan generally supported the ICANN,
                 but had some concerns that the agency is hoping
                 the IANA will resolve, under the leadership of
                 Herb Schorr.

                 His task will not be easy. The domain name
                 system--and the cumbersome and lengthy process
                 of handing over control over it from the U.S.
                 government to the private sector--has been plagued
                 with controversy.

                 While many are happy with the ICANN, others
                 have accused the IANA and those behind the
                 process of operating in a closed-door fashion,
                 leaving them out of the important decision-making
                 process.

                 For instance, the Electronic Frontier Foundation
                 has worried that without government oversight, the
                 ICANN will be able to operate under a shroud of
                 secrecy.

                 Specifically, the Electronic Frontier Foundation
                 called for rules that require open meetings and
                 public disclosure, for example.

                 The National Telecommunications and Information
                 Administration specifically asked the IANA to look
                 into many of these issues, according to Burr.

                 "The public submissions and comments indicate that
                 there are remaining concerns in the area of
                 accountability (representational and financial),
                 transparent decision-making processes, conflict of
                 interest, and ICANN's proposed role with respect
                 to country-code top-level domains," the letter
                 states.

                 "We believe ICANN's submission represents a
                 significant step forward, but there were a lot of
                 questions and concerns about the specifics of their
                 submission," Burr said. "The letter details specific
                 areas related to their accountability, conflict of
                 interest, and decision-making process," she said.

                 The IANA, under Schorr, will report back to the
                 agency, which ultimately will hand over the reins to
                 the new organization. The process could take
                 weeks, rather than months.

                 Burr said that after Postel's death, the agency's staff
                 contacted several people who have been involved
                 in the process to gauge how the government should
                 move forward and whether it should delay the
                 process.

                 "The consensus was that we should proceed," she
                 said. "While it's going to be hard to replace Jon, he
                 had technical staff that he trained and were in place
                 and were perfectly capable of running this. It's
                 important to move forward to preserve the stability
                 of the Internet and to privatize the management of
                 domain names."

                 While the government is working on transition plan,
                 Network Solutions has received a two-year
                 extension on its monopolist government contract to
                 administer the domain naming system.

                 The deal, which lasts until September 2000,
                 requires the publicly traded firm to open up its Net
                 name registration coffers to competitors by next
                 summer but start transferring technical control of
                 top-level domains to an international nonprofit
                 board by March.



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