Featured Blogs

The “Pact for the Future”: A Bold Vision for Global Cooperation with Lingering Doubts on SDGs Progress

Global leaders gathered in New York at the Summit of the Future and adopted the "Pact for the Future" on Sunday 22nd September. This is a historic milestone as the Pact is the first international agreement aimed at securing a better digital future for all, grounded in human rights. The recent adoption of the "Pact for the Future" at the United Nations General Assembly marks a significant step toward revitalizing multilateral cooperation in an increasingly fragmented world. more

UN Cyber Diplomacy: PoC, Cybercrime and the Global Digital Compact

Despite global polarization, recent UN cyber diplomacy has achieved three significant agreements in 2024: a cyber attack reporting system, a convention against cybercrime, and a "Global Digital Compact." These successes show that consensus on global issues is possible, though the vague wording of agreements raises concerns about their long-term effectiveness in ensuring security and peace. more

Unregistered Gems Part 4: Other Brandable Domain-Name Styles

In the fourth in this series of articles exploring how the application of appropriate tools, algorithms and analysis techniques can identify the existence of attractive, unregistered brandable domain names, I consider the prevalence of a few additional styles of name. more

Are Light Poles Telecom Infrastructure?

A long-running issue resurfaced recently asking if light poles should be made available for telecommunications. This idea that light poles might be telecom infrastructure comes from language included in Section 224 of the United States Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) code that says that a "utility shall provide a cable television system or any telecommunications carrier with nondiscriminatory access to any pole, duct, conduit, or right-of-way owned or controlled by it." more

Unregistered Gems Part 3: Keeping Your -ize on the Prize

The previous two articles in this series have outlined techniques for 'mining' brandable domain names -- that is, domain names of potential interest to entities looking to launch a new brand name and associated website -- from the enormous dataset of unregistered names (determined via zone file analysis). The key element of the identification process is the implementation of filtering techniques to identify... more

Book Review: Forks in the Digital Road - Key Decisions in the History of the Internet

At first glance, this book looks like another history of the Internet, but it is much, much more. The authors use their engineering and scholarly understanding of what constitutes Internet history to identify forks in the digital road and key past decisions that shaped the Internet's path. The first part of the book maps out the core technical and policy decisions that created the Internet.  more

Affordable Starlink Prices Coming to Low and Middle-Income Countries

SpaceX first departed from its uniform Starlink pricing policy when it offered a reduced price for throttled service in France two years ago. Since then, many new, higher-capacity satellites have been launched, enabling SpaceX to reduce prices in low and middle-income countries like Kenya. Kenya had 405 geostationary satellite internet subscribers when Starlink became available in July 2023. more

Further Explorations in Brandable Domain Names: Sensational Spellingz

My previous article on brandable domain names1 -- that is, available (unregistered) domain names which may be appealing to any entity looking to identify a potential name for a new brand launch -- focused on the use of phonotactic (i.e. 'readability') analysis techniques to identify candidate names. more

Navigating the Multistakeholder Approach: The ICANN Community’s Role in Global Internet Governance

In a world where the internet is central to communication, innovation, and economic growth, governing this vast digital ecosystem is a complex challenge. The multi-stakeholder approach, which involves governments, private entities, civil society, technical experts, and end-users, has long served as the cornerstone of Internet governance, ensuring that decision-making remains open and inclusive. more

Wireless Technology and Vehicle Safety

Five years ago, any discussion of 5G included a vision that we'd end up with smart cars that were all connected with a ubiquitous 5G network that was going to be built everywhere. We're still waiting to see a real 5G network anywhere instead of the 4G LTE networks that are still being touted by every cellular company as 5G. The idea of a ubiquitous network capable of supporting smart cars died, but there is still an effort underway to use wireless technology to make car travel safer. more

Internet Archive Loses Their CDL Appeal

The Internet Archive's Controlled Digital Lending (CDL) lends out scans of physical books, ensuring that each scan is lent to one person at a time. Publishers sued, and the Archive lost thoroughly in April 2023. The Archive appealed the decision to the Second Circuit court in New York. As I said at the time, the appeal seemed like a long shot since that is the same court that said that Google Books was OK, mostly because it didn't provide full copies of the books. more

How the EU’s NIS 2.0 Can Help Solve the Challenge of Domain Name Registration Data Accuracy and Access

Over the past twenty years of my engagement in the ICANN multistakeholder process, one topic that has always been near and dear to me has been improving the accuracy and access to domain name registration data in a way that respects the legal rights of both registrants and requestors of registration data. Sadly, the glacial pace at which ICANN develops and implements policy has prevented a holistic solution to the problem. more

Deadline of September 6 for Grant Funding for Internet Exchange Points (IXPs)

If you operate an Internet Exchange Point (IXP) or are interested in creating one, the Internet Society has a “Sustainable Peering Infrastructure” funding program that is open for applications until this Friday, September 6, 2024... Grant funds from USD $5,000 up to $50,000 are open to all regions and are available to assist in equipment purchases (switches, optic modules, servers, and routers), training, capacity building, and community development. more

Unregistered Gems: Identifying Brandable Domain Names Using Phonotactic Analysis

Conventional wisdom within the domain-sales industry states that the stock of unregistered domain names is 'running out,' with limited or no availability of short, desirable domain names across popular extensions (TLDs). This presents problems for would-be brand owners looking for a brand name (and accompanying suitable website presence) to utilize for newly-launched companies... more

How AI Is Boosting Domain Registrar Efficiency, Empowering Registries and Transforming User Experience

AI is bringing changes to the domain registration process by enhancing user experience, improving registrar operations, and empowering registries. In recent years, AI has entered the industry via the huge growth of new website builders. Today, new developments in the field offer an opportunity to align the interests of all stakeholders, from end user to registry. more