ICANN's Board of Directors approved, by a majority vote, a set of agreements settling a long time dispute between ICANN and VeriSign, the registry operator for the .COM registry.
The Board of the Internet overseeing organisation held a special meeting last night where the contract received nine votes in favour, five against and one abstention.
The contract still has to be approved by the United States government, which should be a formality.
About ICANN :
ICANN(Internet Corporation For Assigned Names and Numbers) is an internationally organised, non-profit corporation that has responsibility for Internet Protocol (IP) address space allocation, protocol identifier assignment, generic (gTLD) and country code (ccTLD) Top-Level Domain name system management, and root server system management functions. ICANN is a private-public partnership.
Contract Details & Controversy :
These settlement documents include a new registry agreement relating to the operation of the .COM registry that will see VeriSign handed control of the internet's most famous product forever.
The controversy reigns over several elements in the new contract. For one, it provides VeriSign with a "presumptive right of renewal" over the dotcom registry, effectively handing one company complete control of all dotcom domains forever.
Twinned with this, the contract enables VeriSign to raise its prices by seven percent a year for the next six years (although it will have to justify rises in two of those years). VeriSign will also be given control of all expiring domain names - now the biggest market on the internet.
Eight of the world's biggest registrars, representing 60 per cent of all the domain names bought and sold in the world, wrote a strongly worded letter to ICANN asking it to reject the contract.They argued, that VeriSign was being given permanent control of the dotcom registry, nor that it was allowed to raise prices at a time when everyone else is lowering prices.
The same fears were expressed right across ICANN's membership, and the contract itself sparked the creation of a new organisation called the Coalition for ICANN Transparency (CFIT). CFIT is suing ICANN in the United States claiming a damaging lack of visibility over its decision-making processes.
By signing off the existing dotcom contract ICANN risks "undermining its role in internet governance and its ability to deliver on its promise to end-users", CFIT has stated. It also risks "the long-term security and stability of the global communications platform and public confidence in it."
While ICANN says that the settlement "will clear the way for a new and productive relationship between ICANN and VeriSign facilitating ICANN's stewardship and technical coordination of the Internet's domain name system", an increasing chorus of people are beginning to question whether board approval of the deal, against widespread opposition, is a signature on its own death warrant.
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Related News :
China gives itself its own top-level domains
In a move that could have enormous ramifications for how the Internet works, the government of China has decided to bypass ICANN altogether and set up its own set of TLDs and domain name servers. In addition to the .cn TLD, China will have three new Chinese-character TLDs equating to "dot China," "dot com," and "dot net." The Ministry of Information Industry describes the changes this way:
Under the new system, besides "CN", three Chinese TLD names "CN", "COM" and "NET" are temporarily set. It means Internet users don't have to surf the Web via the servers under the management of [ICANN] of the United States.
At last fall's World Summit of the Information Society, the discussion about who should be responsible for regulating the Internet's infrastructure grew heated. Proposals for a reconfiguration of the governance structure, perhaps under the auspices of the UN's International Telecommunications Union (ITU), failed to gain any widespread consensus. Instead, the status quo was upheld and a new Internet Governance Forum (IGF) was created and tasked with the mission of "discussing public policy issues related to key elements of Internet Governance."
The larger question is the effect China's decision will have on the Internet's infrastructure. If China truly intends to administer all of its own TLDs and operate its own root servers, it could mark the beginning of Internet fragmentation. It opens up the possibility of multiple versions of the same domain, each with its own root server. Ultimately, that's not going to help solve any of the current problems with the 'Net.
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Update
Registrars urge rejection of VeriSign's .com deal
Nineteen internet companies, including Network Solutions, have asked ICANN’s Board of Directors to reconsider a controversial agreement giving VeriSign control of the .com top-level domain until 2012.
Domain name registrar GoDaddy has also petitioned the US Department of Commerce, which has yet to approve the agreement, asking that the deal be sent back to the ICANN Board.
"We will not sit back without a fight. This deal is outrageous. It's monopolistic because it locks in price hikes and eliminates good old-fashion competition. It's a mistake secretary (Carlos) Gutierrez can stop," GoDaddy.com CEO and founder Bob Parsons said.
According to a petition lodged with the board by the 19 firms, the deal will have adverse consequences that are "far-reaching and permanent". The petitioners believe the agreement shows that ICANN has failed to foster a market with appropriate controls on .com registry pricing or to provide adequate regulatory oversight.
They call on the board to reconsider the agreement in the light of a new investigation by the Department of Justice into the registry market.
"The failure to consider material information concerning the potential adverse effects that the settlement would have on competition is contrary to ICANN’s core values and would be harmful to consumers," the joint filing says.
