Featured Blogs

In Congressional Hearing, Stakeholders Highlight ICANN’s Failures and Need for Reform

Can we trust ICANN to conduct itself in a predictable, open, transparent, and accountable manner if it takes over governance of the Internet's domain name system from the U.S. government? That was the main question up for discussion Wednesday in the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Courts, Intellectual Property, and the Internet, as lawmakers heard feedback from a diverse group of stakeholders about the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) plan to relinquish its historical oversight of key technical Internet functions.  more

On the Road to WSIS+10: Open Frameworks for Successful Discussions

This year we must work together to open up Internet governance processes so that everyone can have their voices heard in the development of Internet policies. In 2015, the Internet governance landscape is peppered with events and meetings as a number of key Internet policy issues are debated. There are key global, regional and local discussions underway about how to strengthen the Internet governance model in ways that will be meaningful to users around the globe, and how to be more inclusive of new ideas and perspectives. more

Diving Into the DNS

If you are at all interested in how the Internet's Domain Name System (DNS) works, then one of the most rewarding meetings that is dedicated to this topic is the DNS OARC workshops. I attended the spring workshop in Amsterdam in early May, and the following are my impressions from the presentations and discussion. What makes these meetings unique in the context of DNS is the way it combines operations and research, bringing together researchers, builders and maintainers of DNS software systems, and operators of DNS infrastructure services into a single room and a broad and insightful conversation. more

Comparing the Spectrum Policies of America and China

With the explosion in mobile broadband, every mobile operator is scrambling to secure the spectrum capacity needed to stay ahead in the market. There is no doubt that spectrum management is one of the most critical elements of telecommunications policy. It is seen as the pathway to 21C infrastructure... It is interesting to see how the different countries handle their spectrum management policies. more

M3AAWG & i2Coalition Collaborate on Best Practices on Anti-Abuse in Hosting & Cloud Environments

I am excited to announce the recent release of the industry first Best Common Practices document for Cloud and Hosting providers for addressing abuse issues that was created by M3AAWG and the i2Coalition. M3AAWG has been collaborating with the Best Practices Working Group of the i2Coalition over the past 2 years to discuss ways to solve malicious activity within hosting and cloud ecosystems.  more

Unmet Fundamental Requisites for a Successful gTLDs Program

New pioneering ideas are not always welcomed or requested by consumers... Henry Ford didn't wait until people wanted a mass-market car. Citibank didn't wait until they wanted ATMs, and Jeff Bezos didn't wait until they decided to shop on their computers. But the three innovators did more than follow a vision. Before they made their respective leaps, they pondered what people did want. They asked themselves some hard questions. more

Why Small Businesses Should Start Trusting the Cloud (Reasons to Convince Your Boss)

For small businesses, effectively managing technology comes with a question: Is it better to outsource or stay in-house? Most small and midsize companies can't afford to employ teams of full-time IT staffers. This creates a desire for outsourced solutions. However, opting for a third party means giving up a measure of control. What is best for your business? In this post, we offer a quick rundown of the top five tasks any small business should consider outsourcing. more

Live Streaming Apps: Piracy Trends Are-A-Changing

Until recently, digital pirates have used both P2P sites and cyberlockers to upload and share pirated content. But as Internet connection speeds have increased, the piracy landscape has changed, and the appearance of streaming content has proliferated. In fact, 38% of online sporting fans are watching live streaming of their favorite events. However, the recent introduction of live streaming apps is further compounding issues surrounding online piracy... more

Will Telcos Be Able to Harness the New Business Opportunities of 5G?

The industry would like to project 5G as a divergence from previous mobile technology evolution lines (1G-2G-3G-4G). They claim that this is a whole new ballgame, with completely new opportunities. But the big question will be whether this time round the telcos will be able to harness this new technology to create new business opportunities for themselves. 5G is only one element of a larger ecosystem that includes broadband access, IoT, M2M, cloud computing, data centres and data analytics... more

Measuring Canada’s Internet Performance One Test at a Time

As the head of the registry for the .CA top-level domain, I can tell you that few things get Canadians riled up as much as the performance of their Internet service. Their concerns aren't entirely unfounded -- according to OECD data, Canada's ranking for broadband speed and price relative to its OECD counterparts has been on a downward trend over the past dozen years. And for those of us who travel overseas, especially to countries with advanced Internet infrastructure like South Korea and Sweden, we've experienced firsthand just how green the grass is on the other side of the fence. more

Cloud Versus Dedicated Data Centers: Rumble in the Virtual Jungle

Cloud or dedicated? That's the question companies face each time they need new storage space or resources -- is it better to build local or host off site? Both tech segments are performing strongly, with the global data center blade server market to reach more than $15 billion by 2019 at a compound annual growth rate of 10.25 percent and cloud computing sitting on a $16 billion market that's only trending up thanks to increased public and hybrid adoption. In other words, it's virtual war: Who wins the battle? more

ICANN Board Member and Former GAC Chair to Give Evidence in .Africa Case

The controversy over the competing .africa TLD applications has been going on for some time. A recent decision by the International Centre For Dispute Resolution (ICDR) said that ICANN had breached its own by-laws and has questioned why ICANN won't allow a current board member and the former GAC Chair to speak to them and provide evidence. A letter that was published on the ICANN site yesterday suggests that ICANN may have changed their tune... more

A Perfect Storm: Net Neutrality Debate Poised to Spread Its Wings Down Under

To date, proponents of a neutral internet have had relatively scant reason to raise their voices beyond anything more than a murmur in Australia. While the FCC's Open Internet Order of 2015 has been hailed as a significant win for consumers in the US, and the wording of proposed legislation to institute ex-ante regulation of service providers is soon to be considered in the EU, Aussies have been quarantined from anything other than the fringes of the Net Neutrality debate. more

The Economics of Magic

Arthur C. Clarke said any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic. Milton Friedman said there's no such thing as a free lunch. The validity of the former statement does not invalidate the later. From this we can see that even magic has a price. Hence, its application is subject to cost-benefit analysis. There are many developing technologies that may eventually qualify as magic. more

The Internet of Stupid Things

In those circles where Internet prognostications abound and policy makers flock to hear grand visions of the future, we often hear about the boundless future represented by "The Internet of Things". This phrase encompasses some decades of the computing industry's transition from computers as esoteric piece of engineering affordable only by nations, to mainframes, desktops, laptops, handhelds, and now wrist computers. Where next? more