(from newsbytes.com)Lawmakers - ICANN Should Freeze New Domain-Name Plan
By Robert MacMillan and David
McGuire, Newsbytes
WASHINGTON, D.C., U.S.A.,
15 Nov 2000, 5:38 PM CST
Reps. Edward Markey, D-Mass., and Lois Capps, D-Calif., Tuesday asked the
Commerce Department to delay
its implementation of new generic top-level
domains like .com, .org and .net until the group charged
with administering
the address system and the government review the level of competition in
that field, particularly from
dominant player VeriSign Registry Services.
The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers
(ICANN) is, however,
meeting in Marina del Rey, Calif., this week specifically to devise new "g-TLDs."
In a letter sent
Tuesday to Assistant Commerce Secretary Greg Rohde, head of the
National Telecommunications and Information
Administration (NTIA), Markey and Capps
asked Rohde to bring his administrative power to bear to persuade
ICANN not to develop
new g-TLDs until VeriSign Registry Services (formerly Network Solutions - the one-time
sole seller of names in .com,
.org and .net) no longer retains its "hegemony" and
"overwhelming dominance" in the domain name market.
"In addition, such
a decision would appear to be at odds with the fundamental rationale
for which the Commerce Department
granted ICANN authority over these matters,
namely, that ICANN would move the Internet domain-name
system away from its
monopolistic antecedents and would effectively implement the goal of ensuring
competition in the domain-name
marketplace," Markey and Capps also wrote.
Markey and Capps also criticized what they called ICANN's
lack of accountability and
transparency in the domain-name process, noting that "as we understand it," new
members of the ICANN board,
"the only elected board members - are not participating in
this important decision on new TLDs."
"In addition, ICANN's own
independent expert analysis of the potential new TLDs was
not made available for timely public review
and comment," Markey and Capps wrote.
"Such a closed process leads to public frustration, speculation
about motives and
allegations that ICANN's decisions are arbitrary or will stifle any serious competition
to
NSI."
Markey and Capps expressed
frustration at reports that ICANN may award the .web
registry to a consortium that includes VeriSign
as a member. "ICANN is apparently
considering this action in spite of the fact that another entrepreneurial
company has
been
successfully operating the .web registry for nearly five years and has applied for
the .web name," they said.
The Congress members
were referring to Image Online Design Inc., which has been
running .web as an "alternative" domain
for about five years. Internet users cannot
access ".web" addresses registered by Image Online Design
unless they tweak their
computers to point to IOD's "zone servers."
The consortium to which the legislators referred is Affilias,
in which VeriSign owns a
minority stake of less than 10 percent, and cannot under the charter of the consortium
gain control of it.
Capps meanwhile wrote in late
October to ICANN Interim CEO Michael Roberts, asking
for approval for IOD - one of her constituents
- to operate the .web TLD.
"If all we're going to do is come out with new TLDs and hand them back over to the
same crowd that's doing that
now, we haven't achieved much," said a senior Markey
staffer. "(VeriSign has) added to its portfolio."
They added in their
letter that decisions that ICANN makes in the next few weeks may
put "important policy objectives
at risk," namely NTIA's mission to promote "the benefits
of technological development in the United
States for all users of telecommunications
equipment and information facilities."
Rohde only received the letter today,
and has no comment at this time, said NTIA
Spokesperson Ranjit de Silva, who added that Rohde may
will make a statement in the
near future.
VeriSign officials did not immediately return telephone calls seeking comment.
Reported by Newsbytes.com,
http://www.newsbytes.com .
17:38 CST
(20001115/WIRES
TOP, ONLINE, LEGAL, BUSINESS/ICANN/PHOTO)