I have been asking myself this question quite a bit recently.
Would I trust them with .org? Would I want to do business with them?
Will they follow through one whats promised? The answer for me is no.
I was amused that their presentation in Bucharest left zero seconds on the clock
for questions (Vinton Cerf: "I'm impressed. You managed to go precisely 15 minutes.
No time for questions.") Clearly planned and well rehearsed to avoid questions.
And
when the preliminary staff report recommended the Internet Society, Neustar's five
volume rebutal seemed a bit excessive. Was this panic?
And finally, they
are quick to point out having raised US$130M, or that they have US$30M in cash.
Put in context, while impressive it is old information and not of much use in the
here and now. Its over time, or as of 31-12-01 with regards to cash on hand.
On the same balance sheet in their proposal, they also had US$30 in accounts payable
and accruals. Doesn't that mean they are teetering on the brink of bankruptcy.
I have also read that some of the US$130M raised was actually in the form of a loan
against future income. This was pointed out as a common practice in the Telecom
sector in the most recent Deloite tech Trend report. That is a recipe for distater
in today's economic environment.
And finally, there are some pretty interesting
if not amusing comments in the attached discussion thread. Certainly you have
to look past the fowl language and take it at face value. If nothing else,
it will make you wonder if Neustar is the sort of company you want to have operate
.org.
-Brett