Web Body To Accept Address Plans
By ANICK JESDANUN
05:56 PM ET 08/03/00
AP Internet Writer
NEW YORK (AP) - The Internet's oversight body said Thursday it
will accept proposals next month for expanding the pool of online
addresses used to find Web sites. New domain names such as ''.movie'' or ''.travel'' would help
relieve the crowded field of dot-coms. They would be the first
global suffixes added since the 1980s, when Net use was limited to
academics and bureaucrats.
``We're within striking distance,'' said Andrew McLaughlin,
chief policy officer for the Internet Corporation for Assigned
Names and Numbers. ``Barring some disasters, we'll start seeing new
names early next year.''
As the Internet grows, the pool of short, simple names shrinks.
So the Internet needs new domain suffixes, the same way the phone
system often requires new area codes.
At stake is a New Economy increasingly dependent on the Net and
on customers' ability to easily find Web sites.
ICANN will issue formal guidelines as early as Friday. For a
$50,000 application fee, any company or organization may propose a
new suffix. Applications will be accepted Sept. 5-Oct. 2, and two
weeks of public commenting will follow.
The Net organization will review the proposals and approve a
half dozen or so new names at its annual meeting in November.
Several questions remain on how the new names would blend with
existing ones. For instance, would Ford Motor Co., the owner of
www.Ford.com , automatically have the right to any new name, even if
former President Gerald Ford wants it for a presidential library?
And would a name like ''.museum'' be open to anyone, or only to
exhibitors?
ICANN has not made any decision on these or many other issues,
and has asked applicants to propose solutions. Many critics believe
ICANN should have settled these matters ahead of time.
But McLaughlin said the group wanted input from the Internet
community to avoid appearing ``top down and heavy-handed.''
In making a final decision, the organization will also consider
how the new name would be managed and what needs it would fulfill.
Meanwhile, ICANN finished registering voters to elect five board
members this fall. Those members would contribute to future policy
decisions on domain names and other Net issues.
More than 158,000 Internet users signed up, far greater than the
10,000 that ICANN initially expected. As a result, the registration
system broke down, and many users were unable to register in time.
Voting will take place by continent in early October.
Four North Americans are on the ballot so far: Lyman Chapin,
chief scientist of BBN Technologies in Cambridge, Mass.; Donald
Langenberg, chancellor of the University System of Maryland;
Lawrence Lessig, law professor at Harvard University; and Harris
Miller, president of the Information Technology Association of
America.
Related Links:
http://www.icann.org
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