Re: [registrars] Registrar Support for ICANN Reform

[Paul Westley <paul.westley@internetters.com>]

Hi Michael et al,

Internetters also endorses the sending of this letter.

Best regards,

Paul Westley
Internetters Limited
UK

At 23:36 11/08/02, you wrote:
>Hello All:
>
>Over the past couple of months I have been working with various US
>registrars in submitting letters of support for ICANN reform to their
>Congressional representatives and the DoC. As I stated on a post to the
>ICANN General Assembly list on Friday: "While a select few people wear out
>their welcome on the Hill and the Department of Commerce, there are small to
>medium size businesses struggling to make a living. They do not have the
>luxury to send an army of lobbyists to DC to manipulate the truth on a daily
>basis."
>
>Seven of the new ICANN accredited registries submitted a jointly signed
>statement to the Department of Commerce on Friday. A copy of the letter is
>available online at http://www.lextext.com/Registry-DOC.html. I would like
>to submit the following letter to Nancy Victory by the end of business this
>week. I have made only minor changes to reflect the nature of the registrar
>signatories to this letter.
>
>The registry letter appears to have been submitted by individual registries
>instead of as an ICANN Registry Constituency position statement. I will
>discuss with the Registrar Executive Committee on our weekly call the
>pro/cons of such action and how best to proceed. Regardless of whether this
>is a Registrar Constituency statement or a letter submitted jointly by ICANN
>accredited registrars, I need to know if you will or will not agree to be a
>signatory to it.
>
>Any questions or comments please let me know ASAP.
>
>Best regards,
>
>Michael D. Palage
>
>
>
>Dear Ms. Victory:
>
>We, the undersigned ICANN accredited registrars, are writing to express our
>continuing support for the ongoing efforts of the ICANN Evolution and Reform
>Committee (ERC). While we understand the frustrations of certain members of
>the Internet community in connection with the overall ICANN process to date,
>we believe that ICANN remains the most viable solution to ensure the ongoing
>stability of the Internet's naming and addressing systems.
>
>In the three and half years since its inception, ICANN has taken on the
>Herculean task of trying to fulfill the numerous objectives as originally
>set forth in the White Paper. Although like minds may differ on the success
>of ICANN in connection with these objectives, the following facts are
>irrefutable. Little more than three years ago there was one monopoly gTLD
>registry/registrar provider. Today there are well over 100 operational
>registrars and seven new TLD registries.
>
>As the domain name market place continues to mature, we strongly believe
>that market forces and governmental authorities will be the principal
>guiding forces. We believe that somewhere within those guiding forces there
>exists, and will continue to exist, a significant role for ICANN that has
>been recognized by the Department of Commerce. Although there are issues
>that still need to be addressed within the Blueprint document, upon which
>the undersigned will continue to attempt to provide constructive feedback,
>we believe that these issues can be solved in a mutually agreeable manner
>between ICANN and registries/registrars within the context of their existing
>contractual relationships.
>
>We encourage you to continue to support the efforts underway to
>constructively reform ICANN and provide it with the necessary staff and
>resources to ensure that competition and stability continue to exist at the
>registrar and registry levels for the benefit of all Internet users.
>
>Sincerely,