[wg-c] hypothetical registry application

[Richard <richsc@usa.net>]

-As an exercise in visualizing what a registry application might look like,
and for those of us interested in chartered TLDs, I thought a hypothetical
application based on Kendall Dawson¡¦s application requirements might be
useful.  I filled this out based on my own paltry knowledges. 
 I¡¦ve even taken a whack at the undecideds. 

I apologise if it seems a bit long, but it gives me a starting point for
discussing internally at FDIC.

Richard Campbell, FDIC
703 516-1135
alt email: RCampbell@FDIC.GOV


General Information : Common Elements

Qualification of the Registry 

„h Full name

US Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation

„h Mailing Address

FDIC
550 17th Street, N.W.
Washington, DC 20429

„h Phone and Fax Numbers

(202) 898 1000


„h Public Key

(we have one somewhere)

„h List of directors

Chairman, FDIC
The board, FDIC

„h Business plan

The registry is designed to provide the customers of finanacial institutions
insured by the FDIC that the internet presences of these institutions are
legitimate, insured financial institutions.  As a chartered registry
(literally, since all US insured institutions are given charters by state or
Federal), all insured institutions will be given at least one SLD, (or as many
as would duplicate their existing web presence)

„h Backup and disaster recovery plan

The FDIC will assure no downtime to all insured institutions and customers.

„h Technical capabilities

The FDIC may contract the operation of the registry (or may operate it
ourselves)

„h Description of network capabilities

The operator of the FDIC¡¦s registry will have sufficient bandwidth capacity
to support this effort, with demonstrated capacity to expand on demand.

„h Description of telephone systems


„h Description of computer systems

The operation of the registry will be on a 24x7 basis, and sufficient hardware
will be available to expand on demand. 

„h Description of technical support

The operator of the registry will provide 24x7 coverage and will respond to
registry customers within one hour. 

Nature of the TLD -
„h Proposed initial TLD

(lots of choices, but perhaps .USBANKS or .FDICINSURED ) The TLD should be US
specific and easy for customers to recognize and use.

„h Published TLD meaning or purpose

The purpose of the TLD is to provide customers of insured US financial
institutions an easy to recognize and easily verifiable internet site name. As
electronic banking expands, the customers must have confidence in their
institutions, and the FDIC must have a means to assure that the institutions
are legitimate.

„h Estimated volume of registrations.

This would be limited to insured institutions in the United States, currently
around 12,000. 

„h Would applicant run the root for the TLD?

The FDIC would run the root and determine the membership.

„h Supporting documentation relating to trademark status of TLD

(I¡¦ll have to ask the attorneys on this one)

„h For-Profit or Non-Profit?

Not for profit.

„h Price and billing requirements

There would be probably be no price: insured institutions already pay deposit
insurance. (the FDIC Board may decide otherwise). 

„h Business and revenue model

No revenue

„h Chartered or Open?

This is a charterd TLD

„h What are the restrictions?

Must be a financial institution insured by the FDIC. 


Undecided Issues:

Shared vs. Non-shared
„h Protocol(s) used for registration (SRP)

The existing process for chartering a bank for FDIC insurance will cover this.


„h Certificate authority (SSL)

Best question of all. Does the FDIC want to be a CA or not? This is a board
decision, but seems more manageable than being a CA on the open TLDs like
.COM.  Should the FDIC adopt this, it might be an advantage to a member
bank/institution. The FDIC is involved in the closing of all financial
institutions in the United States, so is in a good position to assure
certificate revocation. 

„h Directory, ¡§whois¡¨ and Directory services
„h Compliance to minimum software standards
„h What reports are generated for registrars?
„h How are the gTLD root servers operated and updated?
„h Service Level, and QOS issues

Trademark Issues:
	In the FDIC¡¦s case, we would make sure that all trademark concerns were
addressed before issuing a SLD. 
„h Name conflicts (UDRP)
„h Protection for famous and well-known trademarks
„h Centralized access to ¡§whois¡¨ data

Security Issues:
„h Stability

The FDIC would have to assure that this registry never went down. 

The FDIC has the Bank Insurance Fund and is backed by the US Treasury, but has
never had to draw on Treasury funds. 

„h What about business failure or bankruptcy ?

Banks that go out of business would have their sites disabled promptly. 

„h Probationary phase requirements

No probationary period would be needed.

„h Audit/review process

The FDIC examines banks periodically, and would assure that any institution
listed in the registry was legitimate and financially sound. 

„h Minimum TLD SLA
„h Physical security mechanisms
„h Insurance and bonds

The FDIC is the insurer of the registered domains.  Now, there could be other
liability questions arising from this that we¡¦d have to explore. Liability
for any certificate, for example. 



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