DNS: [Fwd: [Fwd: U.S. gvt plan to fully privatize the Internet]]

From: Ramin Marzbani <ramin§consultco.com.au> Date: Sat, 31 Jan 1998 10:59:44 +1100 · This archive was generated by hypermail 2.3.0 : Sat Sep 09 2017 - 22:00:03 UTC

to other members of the list:
what r the implications of this for oz, ?
ramin
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FYI. Interesting stuff. Haven't read the plan yet.

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Date: Fri, 30 Jan 1998 10:15:29 -0500
To: politech&#167;vorlon.mit.edu
From: Declan McCullagh <declan&#167;well.com>
Subject: FC: U.S. gvt plan to fully privatize the Internet
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The Clinton administration has released its long-awaited
plan to privatize the central nervous system of the
Internet. The four areas it covers: numerical/IP addresses,
domain name registration, root server databases of domain
names, protocol and port numbering.

The working paper is up at the Department of Commerce site:
  http://www.ntia.doc.gov/ntiahome/domainname/dnsdrft.htm

It calls for a new corporation to be formed, with
international representation, that would take over
responsibility now shared by the Internet Assigned Numbers
Authority and Network Solutions. Domain name registration
woud be shared and competitive.

On some of the most contested points, the paper suggests a
(usually quite reasonable) solution but ducks and asks for
more feedback. For instance, trademark holders, especially
owners of "famous marks" who enjoy special protection under
U.S. law, have been demanding special treatment. "We seek
comment on this proposal," the paper says. Or should just
the first firms to sign up as domain name registrars be
allowed in the door? Probably not, but "we welcome
suggestions."

I've just had a chance to read it through once, quickly,
but my initial take is that it's smartly done; I admit the
proposal is better than I expected. It breaks Network
Solutions' government-granted monopoly on .com, .net, and
.org. It doesn't kowtow to the demands of trademark owners.
It tries to figure out what to do with the heretofore
useless .us domain and hints at moving .gov and .mil under
it. Not a bad start, though we should keep a close eye on the
next steps, including the makeup of the board of directors
of this new corporation...

I'd be happy to forward other views.

-Declan

====

An excerpt:

1. The new not-for-profit organization must be established
and its board chosen.

2.The membership associations representing 1) registries
and registrars, and 2) Internet users, must be formed.

3. An agreement must be reached between the U.S. government
and the current IANA on the transfer of IANA functions to
the new organization.

4. NSI and the U.S. government must reach agreement on the
terms and conditions of NSI's evolution into one competitor
among many in the registrar and registry marketplaces. A
level playing field for competition must be established.

5. The new corporation must establish processes for
determining whether an organization meets the transition
period criteria for prospective registries and registrars.

6. A process must be laid out for making the management of
the root server system more robust and secure, and, for
transitioning that management from U.S. government auspices
to those of the new corporation.

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