[pdp-pcceg-feb06] Statement of Interests for MM

["Milton Mueller" <mueller@xxxxxxx>]

Statement of Interests for Milton Mueller

Milton Mueller is Professor at Syracuse University School of Information 
Studies. He directs the School's Graduate Program in Telecommunications and 
Network Management. Mueller received the Ph.D. from the University of 
Pennsylvania, Annenberg School, in 1989. He co-directs the Convergence Center, 
which focuses on the technical, management and policy problems of converging 
media, and was one of the founders of the Internet Governance Project, a 
consortium of university scholars working on international Internet policy 
issues.

Mueller was one of the founders and, at various times, Chair, Council 
representative, Task Force member, gopher and slave for the Noncommercial Users 
Constituency (formerly the Noncommercial Domain Name Holders Constituency). In 
accord with commitments to support noncommercial participation in ICANN made in 
PIR's proposal to be reassigned the .org domain, NCUC has received annual 
grants of about $10,000 from PIR for the past two years. Approximately 95% of 
this money is used to reimburse NCUC GNSO Council members for travel expenses 
to ICANN meetings. Mueller has received a grand total of about $1000 in such 
reimbursements, not quite enough to spin the needle on his ethical compass. 

Both IGP and CC have received research or capacity-building grants from the 
Ford Foundation. The Convergence Center and IGP have no current projects, 
grants or consultancies with any parties with a material interest in ICANN 
policy decisions. In the past CC has received research grants, project funding 
or gifts from commercial corporations such as Eastman Kodak, AT&T, Nokia and 
Telcordia. It recently completed a project for South Korea's Electronic 
Telecommunications Research Institute (ETRI) on issues unrelated to ICANN 
(digital mobile broadcasting). 

Mueller was retained as an expert witness last year by a law firm litigating 
against VeriSign on behalf of the shareholders of a firm that merged with 
VeriSign. His expert report involved analysis and interpretation of 
ccTLD-related events that took place between 2000 - 2003. His pay was not 
affected by the outcome of the lawsuit or by any ICANN decision. The case was 
settled in early 2006.

Mueller serves as one of two unpaid "NGO" representatives on the Policy 
Advisory Board (PAB) of the .mobi TLD. 



Dr. Milton Mueller
Syracuse University School of Information Studies
http://www.digital-convergence.org
http://www.internetgovernance.org