The Global Internet Project (GIP) continues to support the transition of the management of domain names from the public to a private, international, competitive system under the auspices of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN). ICANN is a private, not-for-profit organization formed by a broad coalition of the Internet's stakeholders (including businesses, consumers, and technical and academic communities). Under its charter, ICANN is responsible for managing the transition from government to non-government control of the technical coordination of the domain name system (DNS), IP addresses, the assignment of protocol parameters and the management of the root server. The GIP has fully supported ICANN's decisions and commends it on the progress it has made in 2000.

The GIP's continued support of ICANN is based on its very strong belief that the proper functioning of the domain name system is essential if the Internet is to function correctly. The members of the GIP believe that an international, private-sector group such as ICANN should administer the DNS system, and we commend the U.S. Government for its willingness and commitment to transition management of the DNS from the federal government to the private sector. While few of the members of the GIP are or intend to be in the business of registering domain names, our companies -- and our customers -- all depend upon the Internet. In a way, we are like the airline manufacturers. They don't run the air traffic control system or care who runs it. They just want to make sure that it works so that the airline industry can run safely and smoothly and continue to expand. To date, we believe that ICANN is the only organization capable of providing the global private-sector oversight that is needed to ensure that the domain name system works well, provides Internet users with the choices they want, and provides a stable foundation for the Internet and e-business.

Some observers have worried that ICANN is 'the first step towards global governance.' As a result of such concerns, ICANN has attracted a great deal of unnecessary criticism and scrutiny. The GIP believes that such concerns are unwarranted and misguided. ICANN has made clear that it has a specific and limited administrative function and does not intend to take on a much broader role dealing with policy issues like freedom of speech or the harmonization of national trademark laws.

Major Year 2000 Initiatives

Two major undertakings for ICANN in 2000 were the solicitation of applications for new generic Top Level Domains (gTLDs) and the elections from the At Large community for five ICANN Board seats.

New gTLDs:

The introduction of new gTLDs has been the source of discussion for an extended period of time. ICANN has begun the process of introducing new gTLDs and after years of discussion and analysis prior and subsequent to its formation, has taken concrete steps in the introduction of new gTLDs in a measured and responsible manner. In a formal process, parties interested in sponsoring or hosting a new gTLD submitted rigorous applications, a total of 47 of which were received by the application deadline in October. ICANN is currently reviewing these applications and receiving public comments as part of its obligation to ensure that introduction of new gTLDs occur in a measured and responsible manner. The GIP believes that in reviewing the proposals ICANN should carefully evaluate all criteria, including the benefits arising from each proposal for the users of the Internet.

At Large Elections:

Under its by-laws, ICANN's Board consists of members elected from the At Large community. The October 2000 election for five Board members was the first global election to occur for ICANN, and the level of participation surpassed most expectations. While ICANN officials and observers of the process had originally anticipated participation from perhaps 5,000-10,000 individuals, the At Large Membership totaled over 150,000 from all parts of the globe at the time of the elections. The election was for five regional At Large directors to sit on the ICANN Board. This unprecedented cyber-election spanned the globe, with many thousands of people participating in this revolutionary spin on age-old democracy. New directors were selected by majority vote in Africa, the Asia-Pacific region, Europe, Latin America/Caribbean, and North America, and will join other Members of the Board for ICANN's annual meeting in November 2000. The GIP would like to express its gratitude to the ICANN Board members, particularly those who have offered to serve until their replacements are elected through a subsequent phase of elections.

Major Continuing Challenges

Internationalization of Domain Names (IDN):

An important goal within the DNS system is to allow the use of domain names expressed in character sets other than plain ASCII. This is essential to foster growth and accessibility of the Internet in non-English-speaking regions. However, this can only be achieved on the basis of a carefully designed, universally agreed upon, technical standard. The Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) is developing such a standard. Premature attempts to deploy an internationalized DNS before this standard is agreed to by all parties would be harmful to the stability and growth of the Internet, and would in fact be both self-serving and self-defeating. In addition, careful designing of a universally agreed upon technical standard will ensure functional end-to-end use by users and consumers. ICANN must exercise appropriate responsibility to avoid such premature deployments.

Root of the DNS Naming Tree:

There are also still strong pressures towards destabilization of the root of the DNS tree. ICANN should act as guarantor of the integrity and uniqueness of the root of the DNS naming tree as new TLDs are introduced, since any attempt to destroy the uniqueness of that root would amount to instant fragmentation of the Internet's name system.

Premature Pre-registration of Speculative New gTLDs:

The GIP strongly believes that it is premature and inappropriate for companies or entities to offer pre-registration of domain names in proposed new gTLDs. No new gTLDs have been decided upon, nor are there any assurances that companies offering pre-registration in a speculative new gTLD will be able to fulfill their obligations to customers. Once decided, the registration in new gTLDs will occur on a fair basis, and pre-registration should be discouraged as consumers and end-users may be misled into believing they have a name in a space when there is no guarantee that space will exist.

In addition, ICANN may continue to face challenges to its authority from registrars and governments that end up circumventing the ICANN process. For example, some parties dissatisfied with ICANN decisions have asked national/regional/state governments to intervene on their behalf or turn to a different forum for decisions that are supposed to fall under ICANN's mandate. This kind of maneuvering only serves to weaken the non-governmental management of the Internet and the long-term stability of a competitive, transparent domain name system. All Internet stakeholders who are interested in the stability of the domain name system should support ICANN in its efforts to uphold its legitimate role and authority.

Looking Forward

Initiatives completed in 2000 have proved extremely successful so far, particularly given the challenging and difficult constraints on schedule and budget that ICANN has had to overcome. Differing personal and professional opinions have also arisen - compounded by unanticipated technical difficulties. However, even with such short-term obstacles, it is important to emphasize that the transition of the Internet from a non-commercial, research network into a global vehicle for education, commerce, communication and social interaction, will not occur without growing pains. The GIP recognizes these and other challenges, and applauds ICANN's ability to overcome short-term problems by working openly and effectively. These challenges should not divert the Internet community from pursuing the goal of all Internet stakeholders: building a domain name system that ensures competition and consumer choice, that requires minimal government involvement, and commands broad-based support in the global Internet community, without disruption of the fundamental operations of the Internet.

By enlisting the insight and experience of members of the Internet community, ICANN has been able to navigate uncharted territory and has forged a path for others to follow. With continued support and guidance from all Internet stakeholders, ICANN will be able to successfully fill its administrative and management role over the long term. The GIP looks forward to ICANN's decision on new TLDs and stands ready and willing to assist ICANN in the future.

The Global Internet Project

The Global Internet Project (GIP) is an international group of senior executives committed to fostering continued growth of the Internet. Members come from leading Internet-centric companies representing the telecommunications, hardware, software, financial services, and content sectors. GIP participants are well-known leaders in the Internet Revolution and represent companies based in Australia, East and South Asia, Europe, and North America. Dr. James Clark, former chairman of Netscape Communications Corporation, founded the group. John Patrick, Vice President for Internet Technology at IBM, is the current chairman of the GIP.

GIP participants believe that to ensure continued growth and innovation, the Internet must be kept free of unnecessary international regulations and national laws that impede or inhibit its growth. Old, outdated, national regulatory models should not be applied to the Internet. Instead, new international and non-governmental approaches to policy must be developed, that will be flexible enough to keep pace with the rapid evolution of technology and the marketplace. Often these approaches will rely upon market mechanisms or self-regulation, rather than government regulation.

For more information on the GIP, and ICANN, go to: www.gip.org -- your source for global Internet policy. Or, contact GIP Executive Director, Allen Miller.