[ga-roots] New.Net's Proposals for a Hybrid System

["Patrick Corliss" <patrick@quad.net.au>]

http://www.new.net/press_release_5.tp

Pasadena, Calif. - May 30, 2001 - New.net (http://www.new.net), a domain
name registry created to meet the market demand for Web addresses with
logical, easy-to-remember extensions, today announced the release of its
first policy paper. Entitled "A Proposal to Introduce Market-Based
Principles into Domain Name Governance," the paper examines the role of the
private market in setting policy for the Internet's Domain Name System
(DNS).

The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), operating
under contract with the U.S. Department of Commerce, currently has the
responsibility for administering both technical and policy matters relating
to the DNS. It follows a broad mandate set out in its charter to establish a
"bottoms up" consensus decision-making process that is designed to include
input from all of the constituencies affected by its decisions.

New.net proposes a new process involving a hybrid of consensus and market
approaches, each applied to the areas in which it can be most effective, in
order to stimulate competition and innovation in the name space. New.net
points out the considerable success that the consensus-based processes have
had on maintaining the technical infrastructure of the Internet. The company
maintains, however, that these same processes, when applied to the very
contentious political and economic issues surrounding which top-level
domains (TLDs) are released, are inherently ineffective, creating an
artificial scarcity of good domain names and stagnating the growth of the
Internet. (A TLD is the formal name for the extension in an Internet
addresses, such as the ".net" in www.new.net.)

"ICANN has come under fire from a wide variety of individuals and
organizations around the world for its handling of the political and
economic aspects of administering the domain name system," said David
Hernand, CEO of New.net. "In the broader economy, the world has come to
realize the tremendous benefits of decentralizing control of vital economic
resources and allowing the marketplace to work its magic. We believe that
the decisions about which TLDs to release and who should administer them
would benefit tremendously from these same market forces rather than central
control by one organization. By using the market to create a climate for
innovation in the DNS, all Internet users will benefit."

Under the proposal, ICANN would continue to use its consensus processes to
administer the technical aspects of the DNS. ICANN, however, would no longer
use its test-bed procedure and no longer need to issue new TLDs. Innovators
could introduce their TLDs and develop a following for them to the best of
their abilities. Once an innovator achieved success with its TLD, it would
be included as a matter of course in the ICANN-administered "root" server,
which is accessible to all Internet users worldwide. A more broadly
representative ICANN could assist in setting an objective standard for
inclusion in the root server, which might include minimal technical
operating standards and a minimum number of domain names in use. Once the
standard is established, the process would be essentially an administrative
one.


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