Featured Blogs

Why Are the U.S. Broadband Prices So High?

I've wondered for years about why broadband prices are higher in the U.S. than the rest of the world. The average price in other industrial counties is significantly lower. In France, broadband averages $31, Germany is $35, Japan is $35, South Korea is $33, and the U.K. is $35. The average price of broadband in the U.S. is approaching $70, so we're at twice the price as other countries. more

Application Delivery Controller: So Long, Crystal Ball

Do you know how big your web site will be in a year? You probably can guess, or even estimate how much traffic will hit your site in a year. You can also use millennia proven methods such as Crystal Balls, Animal Entrails or even Coffee Stains. But seriously, it is no easy task evaluating site growth in this volatile, ever changing economy. A key element in the scaling of any web site is the Application Delivery Controller (ADC). more

An Open Letter to All New TLD Operators

As many of you will know from my previous posts, I'm pretty passionate about our new TLD industry and genuinely believe we are all working towards a goal that will provide something truly special for future generations to embrace. However, speaking candidly (as is the Australian way), I think we'd all agree that there is much to do to get new TLDs into the mainstream in a timely manner. And as new TLD applicants, we all have a responsibility to work together to ensure the success of our industry for years to come. more

The Price for Faster Upload Speeds

I've always been impressed by the marketing folks at the big cable companies. They are masters of extracting money from customers willing to pay for better broadband. The latest example comes from Comcast. The company is introducing a new product in the Northeast that offers faster upload speeds -- for a price. Comcast knows that its biggest weakness is upload speeds. more

Domain Name Disputes Deja Vu: Panavision.com and Panavision.org

History, it has been said, repeats itself. The same can be said of domain name disputes, as demonstrated by a pair of cases involving the same trademark ("Panavision") filed more than 20 years apart with remarkably similar facts. I can't hear the name "Panavision" without thinking about the origins of domain name disputes, so a decision involving panavision.org - coming more than two decades after litigation commenced over panavision.com - immediately made me nostalgic. more

My Telecom Predictions for 2020

There is already a growing shortage of fiber resources that includes engineers, construction companies, and fiber consultants. The upcoming $16.4 billion RDOF program will create a resource shortage in 2020 for those who can help companies seek grant funding. Once the grants are awarded, the size of the program will add stress to the resources needed to build networks. Companies that don't line up their experts early might find themselves without help. more

Shaping the Future of ICP-2: Community Input Extended to December 2024

In October 2023, the Number Resource Organization initiated a process to undertake a significant update to Internet Coordination Policy 2 (ICP-2); the policy which specifies the criteria for establishing new Regional Internet Registries (RIRs). The Address Supporting Organization Address Council (ASO AC) has been tasked with managing the revision process, emphasizing community engagement and transparency. more

Is the DMCA an Effective Way to Take Down Infringing Content?

As promised at an end-of-the-year (2015) announcement, the U.S. Copyright Office has now launched a comment submission process about the "safe harbor provisions" of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA). The DMCA is often used by copyright owners to get infringing content - images, text, videos, music, even software - removed from problematic websites. more

Many Libraries Still Have Slow Broadband

During the recent pandemic, many homes came face-to-face with the realization that their home broadband connection is inadequate. Many students trying to finish the school year and people trying to work from home found that their broadband connection would not allow them to connect and maintain connections to school and work servers. Even families who thought they had good broadband found they were unable to maintain multiple connections for these purposes. more

Deadline of Friday, Dec 15, for Nominations to Internet Society Board of Trustees

As I noted last month, this Friday, December 15, 2017, at 15:00 UTC is the deadline to nominate someone for the Internet Society's Board of Trustees. Anyone who supports the mission of the Internet Society is welcome to submit a nomination (for yourself or for someone you think should be considered). The Internet Society serves a pivotal role in the world as a leader on Internet policy, technical, economic, and social matters, and as the organizational home of the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF). more

Let’s Bring Telecom Manufacturing Back to the US

President Biden recently signed an executive order that will require that the federal government buys more goods produced in the United States. This was done to promote American jobs and to keep profits at home. It's a great idea, but it suffers from one big flaw -- we don't manufacture a lot of things in the US anymore. Statistics are hard to pin down, but something like 40,000 US factories have shut down over the last decade. more

Is the Lockdown Driving Domain Registrations?

Businesses across Europe face a new and challenging situation not seen in generations. A mass lockdown of society due to the coronavirus pandemic with thousands of businesses having been forced to send employees home. The societal impact is broad and deep; however, for ccTLD registries, beyond changes to how staff work, other business effects so far seem minimal. One aspect of registry business may, however, be changing. more

The Networked Society and Personal Freedom

Given the current debate around mass surveillance which is undertaken by both governments and (social) media companies, the recurring question is what is happening to our hard-fought personal freedom? In the case of government-based mass surveillance there isn't an opt-out option, and in reality opt-out is also not a valid solution to services provided by Google, Apple, Facebook and the millions of apps that we all use to some extent or another. more

The Upside of Losing at New gTLD Auction

On eBay, a Virgin Mary Grilled Cheese Sandwich sold for $28,000, a ghost in a jar for $55,000, and a Corn Flake shaped like the state of Illinois $1,350. In each of these very real examples, auction participants placed significant value on the items they were pursuing, in spite of their questionable value. These lucky eBay winners may have also received a case of Winner's curse... Unfortunately, human beings are not always rational and information is rarely - if ever - perfect. So how do you avoid winner's curse for your TLD? more

Best Practices in the Global Internet

In an increasingly global environment, the Internet infrastructure industry faces a diverse set of serious issues that we as an industry need to address together. To look at these concerns, an area of focus for the Internet Infrastructure Coalition (i2Coalition) has been best practices for our industry. Our approach to developing best practices encapsulates three areas, always with the goal of striking the right balance between security, safety and privacy: working with experts and industry professionals; identifying like-minded partners; and fostering the growth of the Internet economy. more