Featured Blogs

First “Middle East DNS Forum” Happening Feb 3-4 in Dubai - Live Video Stream Available

The first "Middle East DNS Forum" kicks off on this coming Monday, February 3, 2014, in Dubai. The event is hosted by the Telecommunication Regulatory Authority (TRA) of the UAE and was organized jointly by ICANN and the Internet Society. The event aims to bring together people from across the region to look at opportunities to advance the domain name industry within the region. more

Securing the Core

BGP. Border Gateway Protocol. The de-facto standard routing protocol of the Internet. The nervous system of the Internet. I don't think I can overstate the importance, the criticality of BGP to the operation of the modern Internet. BGP is the glue that holds the Internet together at its core. And like so many integral pieces of the Internet, it, too, is designed and built on the principle of trust... The folks who operate the individual networks that make up the Internet are generally interested in keeping the Internet operating, in keeping the packets flowing. And they do a great job, for the most part. more

Who Are the Major New gTLD Applicants and… (Part One: Famous Four Media)

This article is the personal analysis by a new gTLD consultant who has been following the ICANN new gTLD program from the beginning but with a Frenchman's perspective. I recently read an article which made me smile because entitled "the top 10 new gTLDs to follow in 2014". But according to what? I partially read it to find out that it was written by a professional from a certain culture and written for a certain culture. None of the top 10 new gTLDs listed in the article were of any interest to me: a French person. more

How Do We Get More Network Operator Feedback Into IETF Standards? Please Take This Survey

How do we get more feedback from the operators of networks back into the standards process of the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF)? How do we help know whether the open standards being developed within the IETF reflect the operational realities of the networks into which those standards will be deployed? If we could get more network operators participating in the IETF standards process, would that result in better standards that are deployed faster? more

A Look at the New ISO27001:2013 Revision

Recently the 2013 revisions of the internationally acclaimed standard for information security management, ISO27001 and accompanying 27002, 'Code of practice for information security management controls' were released. Whether you're new to this or are looking for a smooth transition, it's important to reflect on the changes made. Being compliant with the latest information security standards is becoming more and more important these days. more

Architectural Details and Routing Protocols for Energy Internet

The Energy Internet is based on the same principles as that of the classic Internet except that energy rather data packets are routed between sources and destinations. It sometimes also referred to as mico-grids or nano-grids, but generally these terms are a misnomer as they really refer to a smaller version of the traditional electrical grid. Traditional power systems are passive, hierarchical and for the most part have no intelligence or management. more

The Need for a Remedial gTLD Program for #newgtlds

I think the new gTLD program will have many successes. It is a failure, however, when it comes to serving developing and less developed economies, especially the communities in those economies. Actually it failed in serving communities anywhere, but it really failed when it came to serving the peoples of the world outside WEOG (the UN designations for the developed Western European nations and Other Groups; others including AU, CA US, and NZ). more

Turning the IT-Value Chain Upside Down

Cloud computing will turn the IT-value chain upside down. That will lead to dramatic changes in the way hardware and software is being marketed and managed. These changes will be most profound for IT departments and value added resellers (VARs), but computer manufacturers will feel the heat too. To illustrate this point we can take a high level view of where servers are being deployed. more

Playing the Long Game at the Internet Governance Poker Table

Poker players say if you can't spot the fish within your first 15 minutes at the table, you're the fish. With that in mind, I'm tempted to ask ICANN President Fadi Chehade who's the fish in the high-stakes game of global Internet governance we're now playing. In 2013, ICANN dramatically changed its course in the global Internet governance debate. For a decade ICANN largely stayed out of the game, allowing stakeholders to defend the multi-stakeholder model where private sector and civil society are on equal footing with governments. But in 2013 ICANN went on the offensive... more

ICANN New gTLD Auctions - Apparently No Antitrust Concerns?

There has been much discussion in ICANN circles concerning auctions to resolve new gTLD contention sets. This article summarizes the discussion and events to date, and suggests there should be little worry for applicants seeking to resolve their contention sets via private auction, rather than ICANN's "last resort" auction. more

Exploring the Various Options of Private gTLD Auctions

Now that ICANN's Last Resort Auctions are becoming an imminent reality, more and more applicants with gTLDs in contention are coming to the conclusion that they would be better off in a private auction. As a result, there is a renewed discussion of the various approaches that have been proposed. Interesting new suggestions have also been made within the gTLD applicant community. more

New gTLDs’ Success Drivers

This post demonstrates that success factors differ across generic Top-Level Domains (gTLDs) depending on their implied signal/message. Success drivers can be grouped into four: community, location, generic keywords, and competitors to .com. I discuss their marketing implications... For community gTLDs, their success, as measured by profits, depends on whether the registrants are nonprofit or for-profit organizations. more

Network Down? Don’t Forget the Angry Subscribers

Whether you're a service provider or subscriber, a broken connection is an ugly situation. Operators need to shift resources to diagnose and fix the problem. Subscribers must find another way to get back online and continue with their business. And with the proliferation of cloud storage and Internet-based communication platforms, Internet connectivity is now a necessity for many. So when a disruption occurs, the angry calls are guaranteed. more

New gTLDs: What About 10 Years Ago?

In 2003 - what did we have in terms of domain names? In 2003, the .AERO, .BIZ, .COOP, .INFO and .NAME Registries were just born. The . .MUSEUM Top-Level Domain was born that very year and .ASIA, .CAT, .JOBS, .MOBI, .PRO, .TEL and .TRAVEL did not exist yet. However, .EU was on its way. Although this particular TLD was a country code Top-Level Domain targeted at the European Union, it was awaited for by many brands in its Sunrise Period. more

USG Provides First Official Statement on Montevideo, Brazil, and ITU Plenipotentiary

The United States government (USG) has provided its first official reaction to the October 2013 Montevideo Statement issued by organizations responsible for coordination of the Internet technical infrastructure, the upcoming April Internet governance conference in Sao Paulo, Brazil , as well as other matters related to Internet governance -- including the ITU Plenipotentiary meeting scheduled for October in Busan, South Korea. more