WASHINGTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 26, 1998--
Consensus on Key Issues Advances Cause of Deregulation, Adding .firm, .shop, .web, .arts, .rec, .info, .nom
Four private sector Internet groups with wide U.S. and international constituencies Monday announced reaching consensus on several key issues regarding deregulation and self-governance of the Internet, including the addition of seven new Internet domain names.
The new domain names, needed to accommodate explosive Internet demand and bring competitive market forces to registration for generic Top Level Domains (gTLDs), are .firm, .shop, .web, .arts, .rec, .info, and .nom, supplementing the current familiar .com, .org, .net.
The consensus on key principles was reached during
lengthy meetings and teleconferences over a three-day period among the
Internet Council of Registrars (CORE), the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority
(IANA), the Internet Policy Oversight Committee (POC), and the Internet
Society (ISOC). Perhaps the most important development in expanding the
Domain Name System (DNS) is CORE's offer to indemnify IANA against challenges
to its authority to decide policy on
gTLDs.
"CORE, POC and the Internet Society also support IANA becoming a new nonprofit U.S. corporation," said Alan Hanson, chairman of the CORE executive committee. "IANA has been the reliable and highly efficient manager of the root system for more than 15 years. It saw the rapid growth of the Internet at the highest level of technical management and first proposed a plan for adding new gTLDs almost three years ago. CORE supports its plan and its continued role as manager of the root as a nonprofit corporation, and voted to indemnify IANA in hopes of moving deregulation and competition ahead rapidly."
Despite tremendous support of IANA by the Internet community, leading corporations and organizations worldwide, the threat of lawsuits has been a potential roadblock in allowing the government to end its funding of IANA and let it become a private sector nonprofit corporation with an independent board. IANA will be able to move more quickly toward privatization backed by the financial strength of CORE and its global organization, according to John Gilmore, trustee of the Internet Society.
CORE is a nonprofit corporation created to administer the registration of new domains. It operates under a global constitution and set of standards, and currently lists 88 registrars in 23 countries, including 25 U.S. registrars with a presence in 103 American cities. Under the agreements reached during the past three days in Washington, CORE will begin accepting applications from potential new registrars immediately under a process outlined in the generic Top Level Domain-Memorandum of Understanding (gTLD-MOU). Applicants must meet the same financial and technical requirements as the current 88 CORE registrars. Applications will be audited by an independent third-party to be chosen in the near future.
"This reflects the true openness and competitive spirit that CORE stands for, and the qualities that will be needed to move the Internet forward," said Alan Hanson, chairman of the executive committee of CORE.
Increased demand has exerted growing pressure on the current registration system, run as a monopoly by Network Solutions (NSI) under a five-year contract from the National Science Foundation (NSF) that is scheduled to expire on March 31. IANA and ISOC launched a rigorous public process in fall 1996 to solve the logjam and lead the Internet toward self-governance. CORE and the Policy Oversight Committee evolved from this process and have developed protocols, procedures, systems and software to administer competitive domain registration.
"As the Internet approaches 100 million users, these steps will help ensure that the Internet remains a reliable resource for everyone," said Donald Heath, president and chief executive officer of the Internet Society. "The steps taken the past few days establish a unified vision for a deregulated Internet.
"This cooperation and commitment to new solutions shows that the private sector has the prescription for the Internet's growing pains," said Heath, whose membership includes more than 100 organizations and 7,000 individuals in 150 countries.
In addition to indemnification, CORE, IANA, POC, and the Internet Society agreed on the following principles:
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CONTACT: The Gable Group
Tom Gable (tomg@gablegroup.com)
Dianne Gleason (dianne@gablegroup.com)
619/234-1300
or
Susan Davis International
Clarkson Hine (cchine@aol.com)
Sheila O'Neil
202/408-0808
or
CORE communications representative
Greg Hurst (ghurst@link.freedom.com)
714/253-2357
or
www.gtld-mou.org
KEYWORD: DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
INDUSTRY KEYWORD: INTERACTIVE/MULTIMEDIA/INTERNET