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<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'>FYI -- t</span></font><font size=2
face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial'>his column appeared
today on the Business Week site<font color=navy><span style='color:navy'>. It
was written by a U.S. Congressman from <st1:State w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Virginia</st1:place></st1:State>.<o:p></o:p></span></font></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'>Thanks.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'>Jon<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'><a
href="http://www.businessweek.com/technology/content/jun2006/tc20060619_108600.htm">http://www.businessweek.com/technology/content/jun2006/tc20060619_108600.htm</a><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<h5><b><font size=2 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:10.0pt'>JUNE
19, 2006 <o:p></o:p></span></font></b></h5>
<h5><b><font size=2 color="#cc0000" face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;color:#CC0000'>Viewpoint<o:p></o:p></span></font></b></h5>
<h1><b><font size=6 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:24.0pt'>Internet
Oversight: A Crucial Test<o:p></o:p></span></font></b></h1>
<h2><b><font size=5 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:18.0pt'>A
pending agreement with VeriSign is anticompetitive and bad for consumers—and
could feed foreign opposition to <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region
w:st="on">U.S.</st1:country-region></st1:place> control of the Net<o:p></o:p></span></font></b></h2>
<h4><b><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>When
the World <st1:City w:st="on">Summit</st1:City> on the Information Society in <st1:State
w:st="on">Tunis</st1:State> concluded last November, the <st1:country-region
w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">U.S.</st1:place></st1:country-region> departed
with a diplomatic coup. The U.S. government convinced Internet policymakers
from a range of skeptical—and in some cases, hostile—nations that
the arm's-length policy of U.S. oversight in a key area of Internet governance
is working and is independent of other U.S. policy formulation. <br>
<br>
The upshot was that the <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">U.S.</st1:country-region></st1:place>
escaped, for now, an international showdown over control of the Internet. The
U.N. conference was persuaded that the limited <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region
w:st="on">U.S.</st1:country-region></st1:place> role in overseeing the
Internet Corporation for Assigned Names & Numbers (ICANN) is not only
effective but also far preferable to hands-on control by countries with
repressive Internet governance policies. <br>
<br>
One key to our success at <st1:State w:st="on">Tunis</st1:State> was the
realization that while the <st1:country-region w:st="on">U.S.</st1:country-region>
oversight role is highly limited, it is a meaningful way to ensure that
principles of competition, enforced if necessary by the <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region
w:st="on">U.S.</st1:country-region></st1:place> government, will assure that
the price of Internet domain-name registrations remains market-based. <br>
<br>
In coming weeks the viability of this arrangement faces a new test: a proposal
to settle litigation between ICANN and VeriSign (<a
href="javascript:%20void%20showTicker('VRSN')">VRSN</a>), the company that
operates the .com domain-name registry. How well we handle that test may
determine the level of trust the international community accords to the <st1:place
w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">U.S.</st1:country-region></st1:place>
role in Internet governance in the future. <br>
<br>
STOP THE MONOPOLY. The pending deal, narrowly approved by ICANN's board
in February, raises far-reaching anticompetitive concerns. The proposal would
hand control of the .com registry to one company, VeriSign, without any
reasonable opportunity for rebidding the contract in the future and without
effective limits on the maximum prices charged for .com registrations. These
concerns are all the more alarming because .com makes up about 75% of
domain-name registrations in the <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region
w:st="on">U.S.</st1:country-region></st1:place> and a significant percentage
globally. <br>
<br>
How will Internet users fare without competition? The proposal would let
VeriSign raise .com registration fees by 7% in most years without cost
justification, meaning .com registry fees would increase as much as 31% over
the next six years (see BusinessWeek.com, 6/12/06, <a
href="http://www.businessweek.com/smallbiz/content/jun2006/sb20060612_435509.htm">"Will
Your Web Site's Name Cost More?"</a>). Moreover, the proposed settlement
would result in perpetual renewal of the VeriSign contract without future
opportunities for rebidding. <br>
<br>
Allowing market competition instead of guaranteeing a monopoly would not only
lead to a reduction in the fees charged consumers but also would promote
infrastructure investment, including security enhancements. Indeed, VeriSign
itself last year committed to infrastructure upgrades while agreeing to reduce
fees by more than 40% to win an extension of its contract to operate the .net
domain-name registry. <br>
<br>
REPUTATION AT RISK. The <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">U.S.</st1:country-region></st1:place>
Commerce Dept., which created ICANN in 1998, has the last word on whether this
troublesome settlement agreement moves forward. But to make this limited
oversight meaningful, the Commerce Dept. must do more than rubber-stamp a
proposed pact that has sparked criticism from every corner of the Internet
community. <br>
<br>
The stakes are high. No final decisions were made at the <st1:State w:st="on">Tunis</st1:State>
summit, which left unresolved questions over potential Internet governance
changes in general, and the role of the <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region
w:st="on">U.S.</st1:country-region></st1:place> in overseeing ICANN in
particular. These policy issues remain in play as part of the ongoing follow-up
work of the <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:State w:st="on">Tunis</st1:State></st1:place>
summit, which created an Internet Governance Forum. <br>
<br>
Both the Commerce Dept. and ICANN are obligated to promote competition,
consumer choice, and innovation. The proposed .com agreement would thwart these
basic objectives. The .com agreement provides an opportunity for the <st1:place
w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">U.S.</st1:country-region></st1:place>
government to show—through leadership and informed analysis—that
the limited oversight of the Commerce Dept. over ICANN remains both relevant
and necessary. The world is watching. <o:p></o:p></span></font></b></h4>
<h4><b><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>By
Rick Boucher<o:p></o:p></span></font></b></h4>
<h4><em><b><i><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>Boucher
represents the Ninth District of <st1:State w:st="on">Virginia</st1:State> in
the <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">U.S.</st1:country-region></st1:place>
House of Representatives. A Democrat, Boucher is the co-founder and currently a
co-chair of the Congressional Internet Caucus</span></font></i></b></em><o:p></o:p></h4>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
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