[gnso-vi-feb10] Neustar Concerns with Afilias Proposals

["Neuman, Jeff" <Jeff.Neuman@xxxxxxxxxx>]

All,

I just wanted to go on the record with Neustar's concerns over a strict 
interpretation of the "Afilias/PIR/Go-Daddy/Some ALAC members" proposal.  As 
you know from the beginning, Neustar has opposed the complete vertical 
integration of registries and registrars because of all of the harms to 
registrants that have been previously expressed in letters we have helped 
co-author as well as the damaging effect on ensuring a level-competitive 
playing field amongst registries, registrars, back-end operators, etc.  
However, our concerns have been confined to the vertical 
integration/cross-ownership within a TLD as opposed to a general notion of 
cross ownership.  What I mean is that we have never supported the notion that a 
registry or back-end registry operator could not distribute domain names in a 
TLD for which it was not the registry or back-end operator.  This is not 
necessarily because Neustar wants to be a registrar, reseller or distributor 
for .com, .net or any new TLDs, but rather that we do not see any justification 
or any potential harms that would occur cross TLDs.  In fact, we believe that 
Afilias' proposal would have the effect of preventing any existing registrar or 
reseller from becoming a registry or back-end operator in any TLD even if they 
agree not to distribute names in that TLD.

To us, that is by definition anti-competitive and would unnecessarily restrict 
new entrants into the registry/back-end registry service provider market 
without any justification.  Similarly, it would restrict new entrants into the 
registrar market as well simply because they serve as a registry in a separate 
TLD.    Preventing a Demand Media, Network Solutions, GoDaddy, Tucows, GMO or 
any registrar from being in the registry business completely is not what 
Neustar had in mind and is not something we can or should get behind.  
Similarly, preventing an existing or future registry/registry service provider 
from becoming a registrar or reseller in other TLDs is not what we have 
advocated.

To summarize, I do believe strongly in strict limits to vertical integration 
and cross ownership within a TLD and believe that without such limits and 
protections, consumers and registrants will be harmed.  I know there are others 
that dispute that and that is something we will work in the long term.  But we 
have not seen any evidence of potential harms cross TLDs nor have we heard a 
justification for it.  I prefer the JN2 Proposal because it contemplates this 
scenario.  The only way we could support another proposal like the Afilias one, 
is to address the cross TLD issue.

P.S. - we know the ICANN proposal is similar to the Afilias one in this respect 
and therefore will probably be making the same comments to the DAG.

Jeffrey J. Neuman
Neustar, Inc. / Vice President, Law & Policy
46000 Center Oak Plaza Sterling, VA 20166
Office: +1.571.434.5772  Mobile: +1.202.549.5079  Fax: +1.703.738.7965 / 
jeff.neuman@xxxxxxxxxxx<mailto:jeff.neuman@xxxxxxxxxxx>  / 
www.neustar.biz<http://www.neustar.biz/>
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