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lynx-dev NS story (ungarbled)


From: Philip Webb
Subject: lynx-dev NS story (ungarbled)
Date: Wed, 24 Mar 1999 09:56:11 -0500 (EST)

AP tu 990323 1938
   
Web Management Co Raises Feds' Ire -- TED BRIDIS
   
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The company selected by the US government that assigns
most of the World's Internet addresses made a surprise move to steer customers
of an important WWW directory to its private commercial site: "We're very
concerned", said Commerce Dept administrator Becky Burr: "This was undertaken
without consultation with the US government".  People trying to visit
the `Internic' directory -- which checks availability of a new WWW address --
are being sent to Network Solutions' home page, which offers to register
Internet addresses with  .com  .net  or  .org  suffixes for  $ 119 .
The information is still free, but one must go thro' the commercial site
to see it.
   
The government, in the middle of largely ending management of the Internet,
is upset, since the directory has traditionally been a community resource
-- like a giant WWW phone book -- & `Internic' is a US-govt owned trademark:
"This information has been freely available to the Internet community
for a long time: if there is a reason to change that, we need to be consulted".
It illustrates the difficulty of having private industry run the WWW,
which is becoming the most crucial communications medium for the digital age.

The change occurred unexpectedly last Friday & infuriated some Internet groups:
 100's  e-mailed the Commerce Dept: "We're entering a very uncertain period",
said Jay Fenello, president, Iperdome: "There are serious questions
how this transition will move forward & this is just a symptom".
   
Network Solutions (Herndon VA) has enjoyed a lucrative exclusive agreement
with the US government since 1993 to register most of the World's addresses;
it has registered  > 4 M  sites & had  $ 93,7 M  sales 1998.  Its decision
comes days before a new organization selects  5  companies to compete with it:
"They're trying to get as much visibility as they can for as long as they can",
complained William Walsh, DSO Net (Fresno CA): "They're going to brand
their registrar service `Internic' before there are even other registrars
that could compete.  It may be legal, but it speaks of ethical problems".
   
Spokesman Chris Clough said Internic directory is legally a customer list
owned by Network Solutions, which decided to consolidate several sites,
incl Internic, to anticipate changes in Internet management.
   
Internet Corporation for Assigned Names & Numbers (ICANN, CA) has assumed
most Internet management responsibilities from the US government & is expected
to select  5  new registration companies Worldwide next week.  Its president
Michael Roberts & chairwoman Esther Dyson did not respond to phone calls.
========================,,============================================
SUPPORT     ___________//___,  Philip Webb : address@hidden
ELECTRIC   /] [] [] [] [] []|  Centre for Urban & Community Studies
TRANSIT    `-O----------O---'  University of Toronto

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