/ Recently Commented

Internet Governance: Coin of the New Realm

The Aspen Institute released the IDEA Common Statement and Principles as a do no harm Hippocratic Oath for Internet governance. The Aspen report describes the present moment as an inflection point for "the most robust medium of information exchange in history". Reed Hundt outlined the risks associated with Internet governance changes favored by China and a group of developing nations through the ITU. more

Africa Infrastructure Growth Supporting ccTLDs and New gTLD Growth

This month, France Telecom's Lower Indian Ocean Network 2 "LION2" fiber optic cable has been put in service, bringing the total number of cables in East Africa to four. In South Africa it is expecting West Africa Cable System to go live next month. This huge growth in fiber optic cables connecting Africa means that bandwidth costs can go further down but there are many questions for internet service providers, regulators and policy makers... more

New TLDs: Disruptive Marketing 21st Century Style

Traditionally, top-level domains (TLDs) have been almost exclusively marketed by registries through their registrar channel. In a never-ending cycle of driving and sustaining sales, registries often resort to discounting and "promotional pricing." The competition for prime shelf space for a TLD is fierce, with sales and distribution largely controlled by the channel... In this chaotic and cluttered channel, it's not surprising that TLDs have traditionally been less than successful in defining their brand and delivering a unique value story for their product. more

ICANN - Time to Act!

At the start of the TAS outage, I said ICANN had a great opportunity to get its crisis management right by communicating properly. Now, nearly two weeks after the application window was supposed to close, ICANN has clearly done just that... But clearly, communication isn't the only parameter in crisis management. At some point, you also need to act. more

A Quick Primer on Internet Peering and Settlements

The business world today features many complex global service activities which involve multiple interconnected service providers. Customers normally expect to execute a single paid transaction with one service provider, but many service providers may assist in the delivery of the service. These contributory service providers seek compensation for their efforts from the initial provider. However, within a system of interdependent providers a service provider may undertake both roles of primary and contributory provider, depending on the context of each individual customer transaction. more

Counter-eCrime Operations Summit (APWG) In Prague Next Week

The sixth annual Counter-eCrime Operations Summit (CeCOS VI) will engage questions of operational challenges and the development of common resources for the first responders and forensic professionals who protect consumers and enterprises from the ecrime threat every day. This year's meeting will focus on the shifting nature of cybercrime and the attendant challenges of managing that dynamic threatscape. more

Matching Apps to Network Access - A Postage and Packaging Problem

A number of conversations have recently converged on a single problem: how to match applications to network access. Let's unpeel this issue... When I was Chief Analyst at Telco 2.0, we proposed there was a significant untapped market opportunity for network operators to bundle together access with content, applications or services. The revenue opportunity is to charge the providers of those services for delivering fit-for-purpose data at bulk wholesale prices. This is the "postage problem"... more

Study Reveals Economic and Societal Benefits of Establishing IXPs in Emerging Markets

The Internet Society today published the results of a study that demonstrates the far-reaching economic and societal benefits of establishing Internet Exchange Points (or IXPs) in emerging markets.The study, commissioned by the Internet Society and conducted by independent strategy and research consultancy, Analysys Mason, examined the critical cost and performance benefits of IXPs in Kenya and Nigeria - two sub-Saharan countries that have been on the leading edge of Internet growth in Africa. more

Why SOPA Defender Joins Internet Society as Regional Director

Internet Society recently announced the appointment of former chief technology officer of Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA). The decision has raised concerns within the Internet community as Paul Brigner had campaigned for SOPA while at MPAA as well as being on record opposing net neutrality while being an official at Verizon. more

Department of Commerce Begins Re-Solicitation for IANA Contract

In follow up to the cancelation of IANA Contract RFP last month, the United States Department of Commerce (DoC), National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) have just issued solicitation of the contract. more

TAS Outage Shows Tech Errors Can Happen in Any Organization

Last week, the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) was forced to extend the deadline for the new gTLD application to April 20th, after the application system crashed and the technical issue which enabled some applicants to see file names and user names that belonged to other applicants. ... ICANN's decision to extend the deadline is reasonable in the circumstances. more

Apple Under Criticism for Back-Pedaling on IPv6 Support

Apple Computer's AirPort Utility, Version 6.0 was criticized this week at the North American IPv6 Summit for no longer being compatible with IPv6. The previous Version, 5.6, offered IPv6 service by default. "Comcast, for example, is urging its subscribers that are interested in using IPv6 not to upgrade to AirPort Utility Version 6.0 if they use the OS X Lion operating system because of incompatibilities with IPv6." more

Software Glitch Causes ICANN to Extend New gTLD Application Deadline

Due to unusual behaviour with the operation of its TLD Application System (TAS), ICANN announced today that it has shut down the system until Tuesday. ICANN has also extended the submission deadline: "In order to ensure all applicants have sufficient time to complete their applications during the disruption, the application window will remain open until 23:59 UTC on Friday, 20 April 2012." more

Neustar Launches KickStart America Campaign with .US Domain

Neustar, Inc. begins a "Kick-start America" campaign for the .US Top-Level Domain. Companies of all sizes -- locally-based or doing business in the United States -- are encouraged to demonstrate their local presence with "America's Address." more

The Empire Fights Back!

Even as we increasingly discover that every facet of our modern lives now revolve around, and are dependent on the Internet, for which reason its availability, functionality, safety, stability and security are now of great and continuing concern to all of us. These issues have a profound impact on its overall governance. To most of us, during the past three decades, the Internet has always been available, stable, affordable and open; and it should continue this way even as it is controlled and administered in a secure manner... more