FYI: ISP Constituency Formation

[Michael Schneider <sastre@anwalt.de>]

Ladies and Gentlemen,

In preparation for the ICANN meetings next week I should like to give
another update to those interested on the DNSO-ISP constituency. As the
debate that has been running since the publication of the first proposal
has led to some confusion, I'm going into a little more detail on the
current situation.

1. Meeting on Tuesday

To facilitate the ISP and connectivity providers constituency formation
process, ICANN has provided a room for the purpose of a constituency group
meeting on May 25, in Berlin. The room is the Bundeszimmer room in the
Adlon Hotel. It has been reserved for 8:30-12:00.

Anybody can participate who wants to join in forming the constituency or
gather information on it. However, according to ICANN there are only 20
seats, so that we may have to improvise somewhat if interest is greater
than anticipated.

2. General information

You can find basic information on the Berlin conference at

	http://www.icann.org/berlin/berlin-details.html

The DNSO constituency group formation process is described at

	http://www.icann.org/dnso/constituency_groups.html

On 3 May the following organisations submitted an application to become
recognized as the ISP and connectivity providers constituency to ICANN:

CABASE (Cámara Argentina de Bases de Datos y Servicios en Línea)
CAIP (Canadian Association of Internet Providers)
CIX (Commercial Internet eXchange)
EuroISPA (European Internet Service Providers Association)
ISP/C (Internet Service Providers' Consortium)

The text of the submission has since been published at

	http://www.icann.org/dnso/isp.html

The accompanying letter (which wasn't published) is attached to this posting.

3. Agenda

In recent weeks I had the opportunity to discuss numerous questions by
e-mail or phone with companies and associations which are considering
becoming a member of the constituency.

Following this I believe it is useful to spend a considerable part of the
time available to reconsider individual aspects of the application. The
ICANN Board indicated to me in a conference call that changes to the
application on which consensus can be achieved during the meeting can still
be taken into account during the Board's meeting on Thursday (although I
would strongly urge people to submit requests for changes in the form of
concrete counterproposals, so that we can if necessary integrate them
directly into the text).

I accordingly propose the following AGENDA:

8:30 - 10:00 Discussion of the application of 3 May

- Structure of the constituency
- Requirements for membership
- Definitions
- Membership subscriptions
- Modalities for accepting additional members after
  recognition of the constituency by the ICANN Board

10:00 - 10:30 Drafting (if any)

10:30 - 10:45 Coffee break, opportunity for bilateral discussion

10:45 - 11:00 Adoption of the final application by the entities present
(those qualifying according to the definition we're adopting)

11:00 - 11:45 Composition of the Executive Committee and Names Council

11:45 - 12:00 Any other business

Best regards,
Michael Schneider

================================ CUT HERE ================================

May 3rd, 1999

Board of Directors
Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers

The following associations representing Internet service providers from
Europe, Asia, North America and Latin America hereby wish to indicate their
intention to apply to form the ISP Constituency of the DNSO pursuant to
DNSO Formation Concepts adopted on 4 March 1999.

The attachment contains identical versions in HTML, plain ASCII and Word.

We regard this application as a logical continuation of the work of the
groups - and specifically the so-called "BMW group" - which have already
forwarded suggestions for the articles and bylaws of the DNSO. We are
further committed to the objectives which have been formulated by the
International Forum on the White Paper (IFWP).

It was accordingly not our main priority to establish final arrangements at
this time which cover every eventuality without leaving any scope for
further discussion. Instead, we regarded it as important to consider the
suggestions by many regarding the articles and to give ear to all the
requests and concerns submitted to us. As this is a time-consuming
procedure, and as some care is needed in establishing the definition of
"ISP", we have finally decided on a restricted approach. This is based on
establishing a process for bootstrapping the constituency which contains
the essential basic rules for the further process of formation, while
remaining open and generally inclusive in other respects.

The undersigned have already had numerous discussions, both internally and
with those ISPs and their associations which have indicated an interest in
being involved in the procedure. We hope to submit further supplementary
proposals before the Berlin meeting and to be able to hold the constituent
meeting of the constituency in the course of this meeting.

Yours sincerely,

CABASE (Cámara Argentina de Bases de Datos y Servicios en Línea)
CAIP (Canadian Association of Internet Providers)
CIX (Commercial Internet eXchange)
EuroISPA (European Internet Service Providers Association)
ISP/C (Internet Service Providers' Consortium)
-- 
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 | Michael Schneider Chairman,  eco - Electronic Commerce Forum e.V.  |
 |                   President, European Internet Service Providers   |
 |                              Association                           |
 |                   Chairman,  Complaint Commission of the German    |
 |                              Multimedia-Service-Providers Hotline  |
 | c/o  Schneider & Schollmeyer Law Firm,   Phone: +49 2242 9270-0    |
 | Dickstrasse 35, D-53773 Hennef      Michael.Schneider@Anwalt.DE    |