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The domain name news is supported by auDA

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Who needs the ITU when you have a GAC? by Milton Mueller
<http://www.internetgovernance.org/2013/04/11/who-needs-the-itu-when-you-have-a-gac/>

GAC delivers sweeping advice that will delay scores of new gTLDs by months
<http://domainincite.com/12663-gac-delivers-sweeping-advice-that-will-delay-scores-of-new-gtlds-by-months>

IPv6 Adoption Critical for the Preservation and Growth of the Internet
<http://www.internetsociety.org/news/ipv6-adoption-critical-preservation-and-growth-internet>


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GOVERNANCE
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Who needs the ITU when you have a GAC? by Milton Mueller
If anyone doubted our recurring warnings that ICANN?s GAC is evolving into an intergovernmental organization, they should have come to Beijing for ICANN 46. A new GAC communique was released in the middle of the public comment forum. As people downloaded and read it, they discovered that GAC?s ?advice? is really a complete redesign of the underlying policies for approving new TLDs. The line at the microphone suddenly got longer.
<http://www.internetgovernance.org/2013/04/11/who-needs-the-itu-when-you-have-a-gac/>

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DOMAIN NAMES
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 - ICANN
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GAC Communiqu? ? Beijing, People's Republic of China
GAC Communiqu?
<http://www.icann.org/en/news/correspondence/gac-to-board-11apr13-en>
<https://gacweb.icann.org/download/attachments/27132037/Beijing%20Communique%20april2013_Final.pdf>

DNS Bug Disclosure: ICANN Releases New Guidelines by Evan Daniels
ICANN has released new guidance concerning the reporting and disclosure of bugs that affect the Domain Name System, including information of how ICANN itself will behave in response to vulnerabilities. Until recently, ICANN, which is responsible for maintaining the root domain servers at the heart of the DNS system, had no specific guidelines for the reporting of vulnerabilities, leaving responsible disclosure protocols up to the researchers who discovered the bug.
<http://www.circleid.com/posts/20130411_dns_bug_disclosure_icann_releases_new_guidelines/>

ICANN?s Janus face
We all have our passions. One of mine is to try to keep up with the enormous flow of documents, video blogs, work groups, press releases and articles from ICANN regarding ICANN.
<https://www.iis.se/english/news/icanns-janus-face/>

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 - ccTLD & gTLD NEWS
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cz: New statistics
Today CZ.NIC Association has released a new statistics which can be found at https://stats.nic.cz/. New statistics monitor information divided into chapters like Domains, DNSSEC, IPv6, Hosting, Registry and Health of DNS.
<http://www.nic.cz/>

The .jobs domain name is expanding into China
The .jobs TLD for job seekers and employers, which is operated by Employ Media LLC of Cleveland, is expanding into China.
<http://www.crainscleveland.com/article/20130410/FREE/304109992/0/FRONTPAGE>

The ME Registry Promotes DNSSEC Awareness
The .ME Registry, operator of the .ME domain name extension, has been spreading Domain Name System Security Extensions (DNSSEC) awareness, advocating for increased online safety, since it became DNSSEC enabled in late 2010.
<http://www.domain.me/the-me-registry-promotes-dnssec-awareness>

Nigeria loses N3.76bn to foreign domain names? usage
In the last five years, the country has lost about N3.76bn to the continuous patronage of foreign domain names by Nigerians living.
<http://www.punchng.com/business/business-economy/nigeria-loses-n3-76bn-to-foreign-domain-names-usage/>

nl: How does the internet work? Watch our simple animated explanation
Do you actually know what happens when you type a web address? How does your computer know where to look for the website in question? SIDN would like to show you around the world behind .nl.
<https://www.sidn.nl/en/news/news/article/hoe-werkt-het-internet-nu-eenvoudig-uitgelegd-in-een-filmpje-1/>

.RU celebrates its 19th birthday
On April 7, 2013, .RU has celebrated its 19th birthday. In the last year, the Russian TLD has grown significantly, with 19.4 percent growth, or 737,297 domain names. Overall, there are 4,479,906 domain names in .RU as of April 7, 2013.
<http://www.cctld.ru/en/news/news_detail.php?ID=4459>

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 - NEW TLDS
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GAC delivers sweeping advice that will delay scores of new gTLDs by months
ICANN?s Governmental Advisory Committee has issued the kiss of death to two new gTLD applications and sweeping advice that will delay many, many more.
<http://domainincite.com/12663-gac-delivers-sweeping-advice-that-will-delay-scores-of-new-gtlds-by-months>

Google U-turn DID preempt ICANN's block on corporate gTLD-snatchers
It's official - Google did indeed correctly judge that ICANN would halt corporate attempts to exclusively snatch gTLDs for commercial use.
<http://www.theregister.co.uk/2013/04/11/google_preempts_icann_on_gtlds/>

GAC erects roadblock for hundreds of gTLD applications
The Government Advisory Committee has issued its long-awaited communiqu? containing advice to the ICANN Board on gTLD applications - advice that will likely delay the progress of a significant number of gTLD applications.
<http://www.worldtrademarkreview.com/daily/detail.aspx?g=62b821c8-4e20-469f-8aad-9bf6e81a0b27>

Delay not certain as new gTLD contracts reopened
The launch window for new gTLDs may have just got pushed back another month or two, following the announcement of a new 42-day comment period on registry and registrar contracts.
<http://domainincite.com/12661-delay-not-certain-as-new-gtld-contracts-reopened>

First new gTLD to fail evaluation revealed
With 132 new gTLD applications in receipt of their Initial Evaluation results, the first to fail has been revealed.
<http://domainincite.com/12671-first-new-gtld-to-fail-evaluation-revealed>

ICANN announces 263 new TLD objections on final list
As per the requirements of the applicant guidebook, ICANN has published a list of all new TLD objections accepted for consideration.
<http://domainnamewire.com/2013/04/12/icann-announces-263-new-tld-objections-on-final-list/>

FairWinds Partner Feels Energy and Passion of Coming Internet Changes
FairWinds Managing Partner Phil Lodico issued the following statement Thursday upon his return from the ICANN46 conference in Beijing.
<http://www.fairwindspartners.com/Our-Resources/Press-Releases/FairWinds-Partner-Feels-Energy-and-Passion-of-Coming-Internet-Changes/>

A Singular Problem
The fate of plural/single-term contention sets is a hot topic in Beijing. Most people watching the new gTLD application process expected ICANN to approve either just one plural or singular term for each contention set. For example, either .CAREER or .CAREERS, would proceed to launch, but not both. Would allowing both the singular and the plural of a particular term be too confusing?
<http://www.gtldstrategy.com/policy-updates/a-singular-problem>

Peru opposes '.amazon' domain name
Peru and other countries sharing the Amazon River Basin have come together to formally oppose Amazon's plan to register the .amazon domain name.
<http://www.andina.com.pe/Ingles/noticia-peru-opposes-amazon-domain-name-454598.aspx>

23 April new gTLD approval date slips
The first new gTLD contract will not be approved on 23 April as originally planned. Both the new Registrar Accreditation Agreement (RAA) and Registry Agreement (RA) are simply not ready.
<http://www.netnames.com/blog/2013/04/april-23-new-gtld-approval-date-slips/>

Governments adds categories to new gTLDs
After 10 grueling days of intense meetings, the Governmental Advisory Committee (GAC) has given the ICANN Board its thoughts on the first batch of applications made as part of the new gTLD program.
<http://www.netnames.com/blog/2013/04/governments-adds-categories-to-new-gtlds/>

ICANN looking to avoid delays to new gTLDs due to contracts
Speaking during the organization?s 46th International Meeting in Beijing, ICANN?s CEO Fadi Chehad? explained that the new Registrar Accreditation Agreement (RAA) is almost ready to be signed.
<http://www.netnames.com/blog/2013/04/icann-looking-to-avoid-delays-to-new-gtlds-due-to-contracts/>

Domain Names Like .Food May Leave Bad Taste
A group of the world's largest digital certificate authorities (CAs) is warning of potentially serious security and networking risks for businesses when Internet domain names ending in the likes of .food or .law soon join .com and other currently available suffixes.
<http://www.informationweek.com/security/vulnerabilities/domain-names-like-food-may-leave-bad-tas/240152711>

New TLDs: Time For a Do-Over on Plural Similarity by Steve DelBianco
Mandarin is a tricky language, but ICANN may want to learn the expression ch?ngf? before leaving the Beijing meeting. Ch?ngf? means "do-over" and that's what ICANN needs to forestall an entirely preventable disaster in the delegation of new TLDs. The issue of "string similarity" seems straightforward. Nobody inside ICANN or out there in the real world wants Internet users to be confused by new TLDs that are confusingly similar. Imagine hearing an ad offering low rates at car.loans but you encounter something completely different at car.loan instead?
<http://www.circleid.com/posts/20130411_new_tlds_time_for_a_do_over_on_plural_similarity/>

The story behind .Vegas
The story of how Dot Vegas, Inc. won the battle for .vegas and how it plans to bring the TLD to market.
<http://domainnamewire.com/2013/04/11/the-story-behind-vegas/>

Commercial Connect Leads All New gTLD Objectors With 21; Verisign Files 13
Not counting the ICANN Independent Objector that filed  23 formal objections to new gTLD?s, Commercial Connect LLC and applicant for the new gTLD .Shop filed the most objections to new gTLD applications.
<http://www.thedomains.com/2013/04/14/commercial-connect-leads-all-new-gtld-objectors-with-21-verisign-files-13/>

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 - DNS SECURITY
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U.S., China agree to work together on cyber security
China and the United States will set up a working group on cyber-security, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said on Saturday, as the two sides moved to ease months of tensions and mutual accusations of hacking and Internet theft.
<http://in.reuters.com/article/2013/04/13/china-usa-cyber-idINDEE93C04A20130413>

Cybersecurity: A View From the Front
The changes in the digital world today represent a dramatically sped-up version of the changes the world underwent in a century of industrialization. It is a paradigm transformation of our world: Notions of a nation?s size, wealth, power, military might, population and G.D.P. mean something altogether different from what they meant a generation ago.
<http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/12/opinion/global/cybersecurity-a-view-from-the-front.html>

 Study Shows Google Better than Bing at Filtering Malicious Web Sites
A German security company spent 18 months analyzing malware among millions of Web sites ranked by the world's most popular search engines and concluded Google was safer than Bing.
<http://threatpost.com/en_us/blogs/study-shows-google-better-bing-filtering-malicious-web-sites-041113>

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 - DOMAIN DISPUTES
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Decisions: Not Even Close
Sometimes a UDRP complaint comes along which obviously never should have been filed in the first place. The Restored Church of God's complaint against Alexa Properties, LLC over the domain name RT.org, filed with the World Intellectual Property Organization, falls into that category.
<http://www.domainnamestrategy.com/2013/04/08/decisions-not-even-close>

au: Zoopla Property Group Limited v. Media Mouse Pty. Ltd. - Case No. DAU2013-0002
1. The Parties: The Complainant is Zoopla Property Group Limited of London, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, represented by Sanderson & Co., United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. The Respondent is Media Mouse Pty. Ltd. of South Australia, Australia, self-represented. 2. The Domain Name and Registrar: The disputed domain name <zoopla.com.au> is registered with PlanetDomain Pty Ltd.
<http://www.wipo.int/amc/en/domains/search/text.jsp?case=DAU2013-0002>

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 - IPv4/IPv6
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IPv6 Adoption Critical for the Preservation and Growth of the Internet
The number of available Internet Protocol version 4 (IPv4) addresses is declining rapidly and will soon leave businesses and individuals worldwide who have not yet adopted the new IPv6 protocol with limited options for connecting new devices to the global Internet.
<http://www.internetsociety.org/news/ipv6-adoption-critical-preservation-and-growth-internet>

Comcast to IPv6-enable commercial broadband service
Comcast plans to expand its IPv6-based offerings for business customers with the launch of commercial broadband and Metro Ethernet services that support the next-gen Internet Protocol later this year.
<http://www.computerworld.com.au/article/458926/comcast_ipv6-enable_commercial_broadband_service/>
<http://www.cio.com/article/731685/Comcast_to_IPv6_Enable_Commercial_Broadband_Service>

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 - MISCELLANEOUS
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ARI Registry Services launches DiscoveryDNS
Following an announcement in October about the expansion of our DNS service, ARI Registry Services is pleased to unveil today our new brand, DiscoveryDNS.
<http://www.ariservices.com/news-ari_registry_services_launches_discoverydns.php>

Internet fraudster Ayse Ergen (?Meridian TLD Corp.?) increases her criminal efforts while attending ICANN meeting in Beijing
Today we received the news that Ayse Ergen and another person (who is not Ertan Ulutas) are attending the actual ICANN meeting in Beijing pretending to act on behalf of AdamsNames Limited.
<http://adamsnames.com/?p=209>

Beware of false prophets
I?ve been around in the domain name industry long enough to see most internet scams and attempts to defraud or confuse consumers online. Every couple of months there seems to be a new attempt to profit from online loopholes, or a chancer trying to make a quick buck. But one that?s constant in those long years has been the practice of Domain Slamming.
<http://www.netnames.com/blog/2013/04/beware-of-false-prophets/>

RIPE NCC: A closer look at one of the companies that make the internet tick behind the scene
ITProPortal recently interviewed Daniel Karrenberg, chief scientist at the RIPE NCC, about the RIPE NCC and the role of Regional Internet Registries. RIPE NCC stands for ?R?seaux IP Europ?ens Network Coordination Centre? and plays a vital role in the way the Internet works.
<http://www.itproportal.com/2013/04/11/ripe-ncc-closer-look-one-companies-make-internet-tick-behind-scene/>

CADNA Wants ACPA Amended To Increase Penalties & Cover PPC Providers & Parking Companies
The Collation Against Domain Abuse (CADNA) issued a paper last night calling for lawmaker to increase the penalties for Cybersquatters and to expand the parties that are held responsible for cybersquatting, not only the domain holder, but basically everyone in the monetization food chain, which would including parking and PPC companies presumable the upstream providers including Google by amending the Anticybersquatting Consumer Protection Act (ACPA).
<http://www.thedomains.com/2013/04/11/cadna-wants-acpa-amended-to-increase-penalties-cover-ppc-providers-parking-companies/>

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 - DOMAINING & AFTERMARKET
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How to learn more about your buyer on Sedo
Video explains how to learn more about who placed an offer on your domain at Sedo.
<http://domainnamewire.com/2013/04/11/learn-more-about-your-buyer-on-sedo/>

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SOCIAL MEDIA
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Cash is on the line when Facebook comes calling?
Infectious diseases, says the World Health Organisation, "are caused by pathogenic microorganisms, such as bacteria, viruses, parasites or fungi; the diseases can be spread, directly or indirectly, from one person to another." Quite so. Just like Facebook addiction, which also spreads from person to person and has now reached pandemic proportions, with more than a billion sufferers worldwide.
<http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2013/apr/14/facebook-home-smartphone-system-takeover>

Jenna Marbles, the Woman With 1 Billion Clicks
Jenna Marbles is the reigning queen of YouTube and the particular delight of teenage girls.
<http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/14/fashion/jenna-marbles.html>

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CHILD PROTECTION & ONLINE SAFETY
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uk: Web game extras get Office of Fair Trading scrutiny
Web and phone games aimed at children that charge for extras are being investigated by the Office of Fair Trading.
<http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-22109188>

uk: OFT investigates "free" web games for children
Britain's consumer watchdog has launched a probe into whether young people are being unfairly pressured into buying extra content on supposedly free online games, amid media reports of children running up bills of hundreds of pounds without their parents' knowledge.
<http://in.reuters.com/article/2013/04/12/britain-apps-investigation-idINDEE93B07I20130412>

au: Sexting penalties too harsh: study
Child pornography laws that mean teens could be charged for using mobile phones to share revealing images of themselves are "excessive and hyped" and need amending, according to a report.
<http://www.theage.com.au/technology/technology-news/sexting-penalties-too-harsh-study-20130412-2hpug.html>

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ONLINE TV, MUSIC & PIRACY
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Twitter acquisition move hints at music service
Micro-blogging site Twitter is rumoured to be launching a new music service after buying the music discovery site We Are Hunted.
<http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-22121338>

Twitter and Apple prepare to launch music services
Biggest music retailer close to securing streaming licences with major labels, as Twitter Music gears up for Coachella debut
<http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2013/apr/12/twitter-apple-music-streaming-service>

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ONLINE CRIME & LEGAL
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Cyber thieves target bitcoin owners
The bitcoin virtual currency has had a volatile 24 hours that saw values plummet, hack attacks, trading shutdowns and bitcoin-stealing malware.
<http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-22120833>

Bitcoin success attracts hacking, phishing, and fraud
Bitcoin, a distributed digital currency that cryptographically verifies transactions, has recently seen a large increase in usage ? the total amount of Bitcoins in circulation is now well over $1B US Dollars and each Bitcoin is today worth more than $100. By way of comparison, Gibraltar ? a British Overseas Territory and a conventional tax haven ? had an economy worth an estimated $1.275B in 2008.
<http://news.netcraft.com/archives/2013/04/03/bitcoin-success-attracts-hacking-phishing-and-fraud.html>

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SECURITY
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U.S., China agree to work together on cyber security
China and the United States will set up a working group on cyber-security, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said on Saturday, as the two sides moved to ease months of tensions and mutual accusations of hacking and Internet theft.
<http://in.reuters.com/article/2013/04/13/china-usa-cyber-idINDEE93C04A20130413>

Cybersecurity: A View From the Front
The changes in the digital world today represent a dramatically sped-up version of the changes the world underwent in a century of industrialization. It is a paradigm transformation of our world: Notions of a nation?s size, wealth, power, military might, population and G.D.P. mean something altogether different from what they meant a generation ago.
<http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/12/opinion/global/cybersecurity-a-view-from-the-front.html>

 Study Shows Google Better than Bing at Filtering Malicious Web Sites
A German security company spent 18 months analyzing malware among millions of Web sites ranked by the world's most popular search engines and concluded Google was safer than Bing.
<http://threatpost.com/en_us/blogs/study-shows-google-better-bing-filtering-malicious-web-sites-041113>

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GOVERNMENT & PUBLIC POLICY
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Europeans Reach Deal With Google on Searches
Google has for the first time agreed to legally binding changes to its search results after an antitrust investigation by European regulators into whether it abuses its dominance of online search.
<http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/15/technology/google-and-europe-reach-deal-on-search-results.html>

Google offers concessions to European Commission
After nearly a year of negotiation, Google has submitted a package of concessions to the European Commission to head off an antitrust investigation that has ground on for two and a half years.
<http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2013/apr/12/google-offers-concessions-european-commission>

Google in peace deal with Brussels
Google is bowing for the first time to legally binding constraints on how it presents search results, according to a draft agreement with the EU?s top competition authority.
<http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/55e9cc1c-a35f-11e2-8f9c-00144feabdc0.html>

Australia falls further behind in IT readiness
Australia continues to fall in technology-ready global rankings because it is too risk-averse and conservative with IT spending.
<http://www.theage.com.au/technology/australia-falls-further-behind-in-it-readiness-20130411-2hok7.html>

us: CISPA Passes Behind Closed Doors in House Intelligence Committee Vote
The House Intelligence Committee passed the controversial Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act on Wednesday in an 18-2 vote behind closed doors.
<http://www.thewhir.com/web-hosting-news/cispa-passes-behind-closed-doors-in-house-intelligence-committee-vote>

us: CISPA Amendments Passed Out of Committee?Here?s Why The New Version Still Threatens Online Privacy
Wednesday, the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence marked up the Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act (CISPA), the misguided ?cybersecurity? bill that would create a gaping exception to existing privacy law while doing little to address palpable and pressing online security issues. The markup was held entirely behind closed doors?even though the issues being considered will have serious effects on the liberty of Internet users?and was passed out of the committee.
<https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2013/04/cispa-amendment-and-passed-out-committee-heres-why-new-version-still-threatens>

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MISCELLANEOUS
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Book review: ?To Save Everything, Click Here? by Evgeny Morozov
Silicon Valley desperately needs good critics, for the tech industry represents an enormous concentration of private power and rivals government in its influence over our lives. Hence the promise of Evgeny Morozov, a one-time foreign policy expert turned tech writer, who is a talented prose stylist and a penetrating critic. His first book, ?The Net Delusion: The Dark Side of Internet Freedom,? attacked ?cyber-utopianism? in Hillary Rodham Clinton?s State Department, throwing cold water on the idea that Twitter alone might solve the world?s foreign policy problems.
<http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/book-review-to-save-everything-click-here-by-evgeny-morozov/2013/04/12/0e82400a-9ac9-11e2-9a79-eb5280c81c63_story.html>

InternetNZ CEO role - what happened to that job ad [subscription]
<http://www.nbr.co.nz/opinion/internetnz-ceo-role-what-happened-job-ad-CK>

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TELECOMMUNICATIONS
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Disruption Junction: The Internet's Vulnerable Undersea Cables
Three fiber-optic cables off the coast of Egypt were cut in March, leaving about 1 billion people in Europe, Africa, and Asia with up to 60 percent slower Internet connections.
<http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2013-04-11/disruption-junction-the-internets-vulnerable-undersea-cables>

Internet Speeds Fail to Meet Promises in Germany, Study Shows
A government study released Thursday supports what many German consumers have long suspected: Internet broadband service is much slower than advertised.
<http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/12/technology/internet-speeds-fail-to-meet-promises-in-germany-study-shows.html>

------
David Goldstein

 email: david at goldsteinreport.com

 web:   http://goldsteinreport.com/
            http://davidgoldstein.tel/
 phone: +61 418 228 605 - mobile; +61 2 9663 3430 - office/home

"Every time you use fossil fuels, you're adding to the problem. Every time you forgo fossil fuels, you're being part of the solution" - Dr Tim Flannery