Julius Genachowski, FCC, and White Spaces: The Good and Not So Good News

Julius Genachowski, Obama's nominee to head the FCC, is a friend of Fred Wilson. Fred gives ten reasons why he likes the nominee on his blog. Genachowski was a top technology advisor to Obama during his campaign and reportedly advised the campaign on its superb use of the Internet. He is also a supporter of "net neutrality" although the devil is in the details on that issue. Even though the nominee is a lawyer, he has business experience as a VC, as an Internet executive, and as a board member of various Internet companies -- all good reasons to be hopeful about this very important policy post. That's the good news. The bad news from several days ago... more

How to Increase Broadband Competition

Susan Crawford, seeking to learn from Korea and Japan, identifies three routes towards broadband competition... Facilities based competition: Still waiting for that mythical third wire, or perhaps some unused, unlicensed TV spectrum, but not holding my breath. (Broadband over powerline? It is such an encumbered technology that it is its own barrier to entry.) Wholesale access: Been there, tried that, but the Bells wouldn't unbundled elements... more

Digital Governance in 2023: Revisiting ‘1998 Deals’ and 12 Main Trends

At the beginning of 2023, the good news is that, in spite of all geopolitical tensions, the Internet infrastructure built around TCP/IP continues to carry emails, web pages, videos, and podcasts across the globe. Technically, the Internet remains robust. The bad news is that more and more digital borders will continue to affect the global nature of international digital communication... more

Microsoft Becomes the Latest Company to Join the Internet Society’s MANRS Initiative

Microsoft has joined the Mutually Agreed Norms for Routing Security (MANRS) initiative, supported by the Internet Society (ISOC) with the primary objective is to reduce the most common threats to the Internet's routing system. Microsft is the latest of a number of industry giants around the world - including Oracle, GÉANT, and Comcast - to join MANRS. more

Why .CHAT Could Be All That .TEL Wanted to Be and More

Almost everyone that has been working in the domain name industry for a while has a story about .TEL. It was introduced in 2005 and went live in 2009 with a flurry of publicity. It was a grand concept aiming to revolutionize the way in which people keep in touch. Unlike traditional domain names, the purpose of a .TEL domain name is to help manage and exchange contact information about people and corporate entities. more

New gTLDs: What Is Really Happening at the Moment?

Many of us have noticed there will soon be a new CEO at ICANN. Actual CEO Rod Beckstrom will be thanked and everyone will congratulate each other...(in English :-). OK, done... But what is really going to happen in Prague? more

Who Pays When .Org Prices Rise?

When .org prices rise, who suffers – nonprofits or speculators? Will Ethos Capital raise prices more aggressively than ISOC would? Vint Cerf attributed concerns about higher prices to speculators: "Of course, companies that hold domain names in the tens of thousands for speculative purposes might find such increases more troubling, but I don't have much sympathy for that business model in the context of the organizations the .org brand is intended to serve." more

Big Data’s Role in Helping Shipping Firms Weather the Supply Chain Crisis

When it comes to the economy, the global supply chain was one of the biggest casualties of the COVID-19 pandemic. Port closures and soaring infection rates hampered logistics providers' ability to schedule deliveries and predict risks. In turn, manufacturers' demand projections were challenged, leading to empty shelves worldwide. A lack of shipping containers has affected supply chains, with shippers scrambling to find usable containers before they disappear into service. more

Former ICANN Senior Vice President Kurt Pritz to be Named Chair of Whois Group

"Former ICANN senior vice president Kurt Pritz is expected to be named chair of the group tasked with reforming Whois in the post-GDPR world," reports Kevin Murphy in Domain Incite. more

Annual Internet Traffic to Grow More Than 20 Percent, Reaching 1.6 Zettabytes by 2018

Global IP traffic for fixed and mobile connections is expected to reach an annual run rate of 1.6 zettabytes -- more than one and a half trillion gigabytes per year by 2018, according to the Cisco's Visual Networking Index. more

ICANN Reveals Evaluation Timing for New gTLDs

Having consigned to oblivion the unpopular "digital archery" method of determining who goes first in the new gTLD round, ICANN today announced that it was going to evaluate all new gTLD applications concurrently (the "single batch"), and release all results simultaneously. The decision is a victory for clarity and a very good result for new gTLD applicants. more

JetBlue Selects Amazon’s Project Kuiper for In-Flight Satellite Connectivity

Amazon's satellite-internet project, Project Kuiper, has signed its first commercial airline partner: JetBlue. The budget-friendly airline will start adding Kuiper's satellite terminals to its planes to offer free in-flight Wi-Fi, a feature that now helps airlines stand out in a crowded market. more

Another Day in Court for CFIT vs. VeriSign and ICANN

The CFIT vs. VeriSign et. al. lawsuit had another day in court today. ...The key point coming out of a hearing today (Friday, June 09, 2006) in front of U.S. District Court Judge Ronald Whyte in San Jose, California is that the arguments made by CFIT against the .com deal between ICANN and VeriSign will continue. ...There was one moment of some drama. After lawyers for VeriSign and ICANN both argued that the 7 percent price increases without the need for justification would not be a violation of anti-trust law, Judge Whyte asked the lawyer for ICANN if it would be an anti-trust violation if VeriSign had been granted an annual 100 percent increase. The lawyer said, "no." Other lawyers for other matters sitting in the audience seemed to shift uneasily... more

Google and Others Launch M-Lab, Allows Users Track ISP Performance

Announced today, Google Inc. along with the New America Foundation's Open Technology Institute, PlanetLab Consortium, and academic researchers are launching a new initiative called Measurement Lab, or M-Lab. According to Google's announcement, M-Lab is an open, distributed server platform for researchers to deploy Internet measurement tools. "The goal of M-Lab is to advance network research and empower the public with useful information about their broadband connections. By enhancing Internet transparency, M-Lab helps sustain a healthy, innovative Internet." more

Online Reviews Provide Insights into gTLD Customers’ Needs

There is a high degree of uncertainty when launching a product, and new gTLDs are no exception. However, registries that have introduced them -- or will introduce them in the second round of new gTLDs -- can improve their odds. A key move: go to established domain name forums and check out their specialized sections for new gTLDs. What users say there can help companies refine tactics and strategy. more