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domain name & governance news
by Rebecca Wanjiku 12 Mar '07

12 Mar '07

hi, ICANN meeting takes place next week, here are some articles relating to Internet governance that can make good reading, hope you find them relevant,\ it doesn't open directly, can cut and paste... regards becky ***************** GOVERNANCE ***************** African At-Large Community MoU with ICANN Open for Public Comment The African region of At Large has reached a consensus on the contents of a Memorandum of Understanding ("MOU") between the region and ICANN. http://icann.org/announcements/announcement-2-07mar07.htm Who is ICANN and Where Does it Fit With Internet Governance? by Kieren McCarthy Youd be surprised how many people are asking that question at the moment, but you wont be surprised to know that the only thing they agree on is that they either dont know, or that they disagree with the people that believe they do. I am not going to attempt to provide my own answer, but I will point to a paper just released by the Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology (POST). http://www.circleid.com/posts/who_is_icann_internet_governance/ http://blog.icann.org/?p=29 ********************** DOMAIN NAMES ********************** Top-shelf domain names fetched a bundle in '06 The domain name aftermarket - or, if you prefer, speculation/ransom market - eclipsed the $100 million milestone for the first time last year, according to Zetetic, a research company. Here's a look at some of the numbers: A total of $111 million and change was spent on 17,974 names; The average price was $5,582, up 13 percent over the previous year's $4,954; That rate of increase surpassed the previous year's jump of 10 percent; And five names went for more than $1 million, four more than in 2005. http://www.networkworld.com/community/?q=node/12149 ICANN locks down at-risk Registerfly domains ICANN plans to sue scandal-hit domain name registrar Registerfly.com tomorrow (6 March), saying the company is putting its customers' estimated 2 million domain names at risk. http://www.cbronline.com/article_news.asp?guid=80D83445-B5D5-47BC-B74D-D70E… RegisterFly Site Goes Offline The web site for troubled domain registrar RegisterFly went offline early Tuesday and remains unavailable. The downtime follows weeks of problems with the registerfly.com site, with domain name owners saying they have been unable to manage or transfer their domains. Amid growing concern about the status of domains at RegisterFly, ICANN has asked a California court to force RegisterFly to turn over its database of domain data and compel an emergency audit of its books and records. http://news.netcraft.com/archives/2007/03/06/registerfly_site_goes_offline.… But: RegisterFly Site Back Up A quick update - RegisterFlys website is back up and Glenn Stansbury of RegisterFly claims that transactions are being processed. http://blog.icann.org/?p=38 How to Get Help When You Have a Problem with Your Registrar ICANN successfully introduced competition in the registrar marketplace which has resulted in over 860 ICANN accredited registrars now offering a range of registration services. Go to http://www.icann.org/registrars/accredited-list.html for a complete list of ICANN accredited registrars. Registrants have the option of simply purchasing a domain name, or purchasing a domain name that includes a package of services such as web hosting services, domain name proxy services and other related services. With this range of registrar services available to the public, comes a range of customer service offerings. Registrants have found that some registrars offer 24 hour live customer service assistance, while others only offer customer service via e-mail. Accordingly, registrants are encouraged to carefully research a potential registrar before entering into a contract for registration services to determine if the potential registrar meets the needs of the registrant. http://icann.org/announcements/announcement-06mar07.htm RegisterFly Update ICANN provides the following update: PIR notified ICANN that the .ORG registry has restored the domains that were in RGP and placed those domains on Server Deleted Prohibited status; AND On March 5, 2007, RegisterFly provided a copy of domain name registration data in response to ICANN's request pursuant to RAA section 3.4.3. ICANN is analyzing the data for integrity and completeness. ICANN will respond to RegisterFly with questions regarding aspects of the material provided. http://icann.org/announcements/announcement-3-07mar07.htm When Domain Names Bite Back The domain-name registration industry is suffering a bloody blow with the recent calamity at one of its most popular registrars. Registerfly was once one of the fastest-growing discounters on the scene, amassing millions of domain registrations, until an awkward ownership struggle and a bout of sloppy customer support found countless owners watch their dot-com names expire without renewal. http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2007/03/07/when-domain-names-bite-bac… VeriSign Domain Name Industry Brief Shows Continued Strong Internet Growth (news release) VeriSign released the VeriSign Domain Name Industry Brief for the fourth quarter of 2006. According to the report, which highlights key industry data for worldwide domain name activity, total domain name registrations reached 120 million, representing a 32 percent increase over the previous year, and an eight percent increase over the third quarter of 2006. http://www.verisign.com/press_releases/pr/page_040772.html Domain name registrations increase 32 percent in 2006; China records 43 percent rise in a single quarter Domain name registrations reached 120 million in the fourth quarter of 2006, representing a 32 percent increase over the previous year, and an eight percent rise over the previous quarter. http://www.computerworld.com.au/index.php/id;887105837 VeriSign: 120M Domains Registered VeriSign released its quarterly Domain Name Industry Brief. Among the findings is that there are now 120M domain names registered across all top level domain names. This is up 32% compared to 2005. http://domainnamewire.com/2007/03/06/verisign-120m-domains-registered/ http://webhosting.info/news/1/verisign-releases-domain-name-industry-brief_… http://www.pcadvisor.co.uk/news/index.cfm?newsid=8612 400,000 .mobi Domain Names Now Registered dotMobi announced more than 400,000 .mobi domains have been registered in 104 countries since the domains launch in October 2006. http://www.circleid.com/posts/400000_mobi_domain_names/ Over 400,000 .mobi domains registered The Dublin-headquartered provider of the international .mobi mobile internet domain has revealed that it has now registered over 400,000 domain names. http://www.siliconrepublic.com/news/news.nv?storyid=single7903 http://mobile-ent.biz/news/25963/dotMobi-passes-400k http://www.betanews.com/article/mobi_Registrations_Pass_400000/1173125 http://earthtimes.org/articles/show/news_press_release,69442.shtml Price of domain names ending in .cn comes down China's top Internet address registration agency has slashed the price of domain names ending with .cn to win users from the ".com" service, whose server is overseas. ... The promotion by CNNIC, backed by the Ministry of Information Industry, charges only one yuan (US$0.13) a year for registration per domain name, which is confined to English names ending with .cn. http://www.shanghaidaily.com/sp/article/2007/200703/20070308/article_308251… billgates.tel domain could be yours for the asking A new top level domain, .tel, will be launched next year designed to enable organisations and individuals to consolidate all their contact information in one place. Its backers have confirmed that individuals' domain names will be allocated on a first come first served basis. http://www.itwire.com.au/content/view/10187/53/ Porn Industry Against New XXX Domain The renewed interest in the proposal of a ".xxx" TLD, created specifically for sexually explicit content, has once again sparked a controversial debate between the adult entertainment industry, domain distributor ICM Registry and conservative groups. The adult entertainment industry (through their professional organization Free Speech Coalition) issued a press release last Tuesday petitioning for help in opposing the proposal set by Stuart Lawley, head of ICM. The ICANN approved the TLD in June 2005, but in May 2006 voted against their contract with ICM. http://media.www.dailytitan.com/media/storage/paper861/news/2007/03/06/News…> nz: Bankers try again for second-level anti-phishing domain The Bankers Association is having another go at setting up a bank.nz second-level internet domain to mitigate the problem of phishing scams in the banking sector. http://computerworld.co.nz/news.nsf/news/8886E2E9D36A70BFCC257292000EB1B1 InternetNZ investigates becoming a charity InternetNZ, the organisation that manages New Zealand internet domain addresses among other functions, is exploring whether it qualifies for charitable status as an organisation that promotes the public good. http://computerworld.co.nz/news.nsf/news/1BC9033D86D9E026CC257292000E1A27 Why I left the ICANN At Large Advisory Committee John Levine writes "For about the last two years, I was a member of ICANNs At Large Advisory Commitee. In case anyone is wondering, heres why Im not on the ALAC any more." http://www.circleid.com/posts/why_i_left_icann_at_large_alac/ Social Networking and Web 2.0 Creating DNS Performance Issues for Carriers A revolution is taking place on the Internet, with new sites redefining how we interact online. The next-generation Internet is emerging in collaborative and interactive applications and sites with rich, varied media (images, video, music). As with many revolutions, this one is driven by the younger generation, which is adopting social networking sites like MySpace and video sharing sites like Google's YouTube. But the general shift is not restricted to the young, as more mature consumers and businesses alike are exploring the possibilities of collaborative, media-rich applications. This major shift in Internet applications has its unintended victims. One of them turns out to be the DNS. http://www.circleid.com/posts/social_web_2_dns_performance_carriers/ ICANN Successfully Conducts Laboratory Tests of Internationalised Domain Names In October, 2006, ICANN engaged Autonomica AB of Stockholm, Sweden, to develop, conduct, and report on the results of laboratory testing of internationalized top-level domains in a setting corresponding to the public root. Quoting from their report, "Autonomica AB has, under a contract with ICANN, investigated whether the addition of top level domains containing encoded internationalized characters (so called IDNs) would have any impact on the operations of the root name servers providing delegations, or the iterative mode resolvers used to look up the information. No impact at all could be detected. All involved systems behaved exactly as expected." http://icann.org/announcements/announcement-4-07mar07.htm ICANN gTLD Registry Data Escrow Report This report has been prepared as part of the Registry Failover Project, to assist with the review of ICANN's existing data escrow requirements for gTLD registries, and to contribute to the above mentioned deliverables. As a part of the review, ICANN is working with several gTLD registries to examine data from an escrow deposit for the purpose of determining whether the current requirements are sufficient or need to be improved. http://icann.org/announcements/announcement-05mar07.htm Asia/Australia/Pacific At-Large Community MoU with ICANN Open for Public Comment The Asia/Australia/Pacific (AP) region of At Large has reached a consensus on the contents of a Memorandum of Understanding ("MOU") between the region and ICANN. http://icann.org/announcements/announcement-07mar07.htm Can't choose your typosquatters Commentator Bill Langworthy points out that, much as in real-world real estate, a domain name's value is all about location, location, location. And, good or bad, typosquatters are just a keystroke away. http://marketplace.publicradio.org/shows/2007/03/06/AM200703061.html Domain Names & Defensible Traffic Andy Hagans recently posted about his linkbait marathon strategy to rank his sites at the top of the search results. Brian Provost posted about his love for domaining. Domain names may play a big roll not only in anchor text, but also in overall domain credibility, linkability, and defensibility. http://www.webpronews.com/blogtalk/2007/03/01/domain-names-defensible-traff… The 50 Most Important People on the Web - 35. Vinton G. CerfChairman, ICANN Board of Directors, and vice president and chief Internet evangelist, Google http://www.pcworld.com/article/id,129301-page,8-c,techindustrytrends/articl… FamilyAlbum.com and GoDaddy Update Heres the latest about the FamilyAlbum.com fiasco with GoDaddy. Domain Name Wires story about FamilyAlbum.com has garnered lots of attention. A story about the story has about 3,500 Diggs on Digg.com. Message boards are buzzing. Bloggers are blogging. But where does that leave us? Did GoDaddy have the right to delete FamilyAlbum.com? http://domainnamewire.com/2007/03/05/familyalbumcom-and-godaddy-update/ uk: Our Farm Holiday Website Has Been Hijacked to Sell Porn A luxury North Wales holiday farmhouse owner last night called for an investigation after a website promoting the business was hijacked to sell porn. ... Mr Thomas said: "We pay a monthly subscription and a yearly payment which may have gone through just a few days late. "I am not well up on computers, but it may have been lying dormant for three or four days during which time other users were able to get into it and add links." http://www.redorbit.com/news/technology/861654/wales_our_farm_holiday_websi… The benefits of renting a domain name (member's sub req'd) Renting a domain name can have numerous benefits including economical profitability. These consequences can be tax benefits, retention of the domain name ownership even despite a bankruptcy filing as well as being able to use the domain name by the original owner. As for individuals that want to rent these domain names, there can be many benefits including the use of a restricted domain name for one. http://www.ibls.com/internet_law_news_portal_view.aspx?s=articles&id=279587… ICANN Opens .museum Agreement Proposal for Comments ICANN, last week announced the proposed .museum sTLD registry agreement is posted for public comment and can be viewed at draft proposed agreement and appendices at proposed appendices. http://webhosting.info/news/1/icann-opens-.museum-agreement-proposal-for-co… NameMedia Launches New Domain Sales Platform (news release) NameMedia today announced the launch of ActiveExchange, providing domain owners access for the first time to the exclusive distribution network of the industry's leading domain marketplace. http://digital50.com/news/items/BW/2001/07/14/20070306006115/namemedia-laun… Godaddy Introduces Discounted Domain Club GoDaddy announced the introduction of the Discount Domain Club, a subscription-based service established for frequent domain buyers to save money. Membership in the Discount Domain Club affords domain name buyers registration prices that are up to 36% off of Go Daddy's domain pricing and includes free subscriptions to other Go Daddy services. http://webhosting.info/news/1/godaddy-introduces-discounted-domain-club_030… Demand Media Announces Social Networking Tools For .TV Domain Names (news release) Demand Media and eNom announced that eNom resellers will be able to offer their customers the Demand Media industry leading social networking tools with every .tv registration. http://www.redorbit.com/news/technology/862129/demand_media_announces_socia… MindGenies Attains ICANN Accreditation MindGenies, an internet solutions and consultancy company, yesterday announced that it is now an ICANN accredited registrar. http://webhosting.info/news/1/mindgenies-attains-icann-accreditation_030707… British porn mastermind fights US Government (sub req'd) The British man behind the proposed .xxx Internet domain believes that the US Government has intervened to thwart his plans. http://www.legalbrief.co.za/article.php?story=20070307084858371 Regierungskoalition macht sich für TLDs wie .berlin stark Die Koalitionsfraktionen von SPD und CDU/CSU im Deutschen Bundestag setzen sich für die Einführung neuer Top-Level-Domains vor allem für regionale und urbane Gemeinschaften wie beispielsweise ".bayern", ".nrw" oder ".berlin" ein. Die Bundesregierung soll aufgefordert werden, sich im Rahmen der Mitarbeit im GAC der ICANN für die Weiterentwicklung des Adressraums im Internet einzusetzen. http://golem.de/0703/50928.html http://www.pc-magazin.de/common/nws/einemeldung.php?id=50909 http://www.umts-report.de/news.php?ida=575911&idc=236 http://www.internet-magazin.de/common/nws/einemeldung.php?id=50909 Weiterentwicklung des Adressraums im Internet Anlaesslich der Einbringung des Antrages der Koalitionsfraktionen 'Weiterentwicklung des Adressraums im Internet' erklaert der medienpolitische Sprecher der SPD-Bundestagsfraktion im Deutschen Bundestag, Joerg Tauss: http://www.umts-report.de/news.php?ida=575911&idc=236 Bundestag widmet sich dem Domain Name System Die Bundesregierung solle sich für die Einführung neuer TLD im Domain Name System des Internets starkmachen allen voran TLDs für regionale und urbane Gemeinschaften. Den Vorschlag für einen entsprechenden Beschluss bringen die Koalitionsfraktionen nach Diskussionen im Unterausschuss Neue Medien noch diese Woche in erster Lesung in den Bundestag ein. Der Initiator des Vorschlags, Jörg Tauss, medienpolitischer Sprecher der SPD-Fraktion im Bundestag, teilte im Vorfeld mit, Adresszonen mit Regionalbezug ganz im Stil der neu eingeführten Zonen .eu für die EU, .cat für Katalonien und .asia für den asiatischen Raum seien von besonderer Bedeutung für deutsche Bundesländer, Städte, Gemeinden und Regionen. http://www.heise.de/newsticker/meldung/86329 Aserbaidschan: Großer Sprung in den Cyberspace Ali Abbasow, Minister für Kommunikations- und Informationstechnologie von Aserbaidschan, nutzte die erste Vollversammlung der "Global Alliance for ICT & Development" (GAID) im kalifornischen Santa Clara, um für internationale Unterstützung des geplanten großen Sprunges seines Landes in den Cyberspace zu werben. http://www.heise.de/newsticker/meldung/86193 Die wichtigsten Frauen der IT-Branche Esther Dyson Die Schweizerin beeinflusste als Kolumnistin der NY Times viele IT-Diskussionen, prägte als Vorstand der ICANN ( Verwaltung von Internet- Adressen) viele Web-Entwicklung und ist gefragte Netz-Beraterin. http://www.kurier.at/galerie/index/3636/1/nachrichten/techno CeBITaktion für DomainReseller von DNS:NET - -März.de oder Maerz.de? Kein Problem mit DNS:NET Domains (news release) Die DNS:NET Internet Service GmbH startet zur CeBIT ihr Aktionsprogramm für die über 600 Reseller im Bereich Domainregistrierung. 1998 als Domainserviceanbieter gestartet, ist die DNS:NET mittlerweile als Carrier und Telefongesellschaft national und international aktiv. http://www.finanznachrichten.de/nachrichten-2007-03/artikel-7864320.asp http://www.wallstreet-online.de/nachrichten/nachricht/2032209.html http://www.pressetext.com/pte.mc?id=98951 LICANN durcit sa position vis-à-vis de Registerfly Dans un communiqué publié le 2 mars, lICANN fait le point sur les actions en cours contre Registerfly, un registrar américain très critiqué pour son manque de rigueur. http://domainesinfo.fr/actualite/1146/l-icann-durcit-sa-position-vis-a-vis-… Nouvelle modalité de suppression des .FR et des .RE LAFNIC prévoit au 4eme semestre 2007 de sécuriser toute procédure de suppression de ses noms en lui associant une période de rédemption de 30 jours. http://domainesinfo.fr/extension/1147/france-nouvelle-modalite-de-suppressi… RegisterFly, dopo due anni l'ICANN si muove Su un caso che ha fatto discutere e che per due anni ha visto crescere le proteste dei clienti del registrar, l'ICANN decide finalmente di prendere provvedimenti http://punto-informatico.it/p.aspx?id=1914836 Telecomunicaciones : Llega el dominio ".tel" Los dominios ".tel" se emplearán para realizar comunicaciones a través de telefonía en Internet. ICANN publica en su blog que en breve podremos comenzar a registrar dominios ".tel". Una entrada para el dominio ".tel" acaba de ser creada en el "root zone". Los registros se podrán realizar en breve a traves de Telnic. http://www.faq-mac.com/mt/archives/021866.php De 50 mäktigaste på nätet - Vinton G. Cerf Vinton G. Cerf utvecklade TCP/IP-protokollen som internet vilar på, därmed går det att påstå att han är en internets grundare. För närvarande har är han ordförande i ICANN. 2005 blev han Googles vice-president och chefsevangelist. http://www.ekonominyheterna.se/nyheter/2007/03/06/natets3135viktigasteperso… Potíe registrátora RegisterFly trvají Webové stránky doménového registrátora RegisterFly jsou vypnuté od úterý tohoto týdne, upozornuje Netcraft. Situace okolo spolecnosti RegisterFly je ji delí dobu problematická. Po vlne obvinování se mezi vedením firmy a vlastníky dolo i na zmínky o prípadném zproneverení financních prostredku. RegisterFly navíc, podle informací z amerických médií, nezaplatil za své zákazníky registracní poplatky. http://digiweb.ihned.cz/c4-10072070-20604820-i00000_d-potize-registratora-r… Túl gyorsan terjedt a net, túl sok lett a visszaélés Az internet alapító atyja szerint számoltak ugyan a hálózat sebezhetoségével, ilyen fokú bunözéssel azonban, ami az almúlt években jelentkezett a világhálón, már nem - igaz, azzal sem, hgy az internet ennyire elterjedt lesz, mint ma. http://www.origo.hu/techbazis/internet/20070305huhh.html +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ ____________________________________________________________________________________ Expecting? Get great news right away with email Auto-Check. Try the Yahoo! Mail Beta. http://advision.webevents.yahoo.com/mailbeta/newmail_tools.html

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test 20070309 3:55pm EAT - ignore
by John Walubengo 09 Mar '07

09 Mar '07

test ____________________________________________________________________________________ 8:00? 8:25? 8:40? Find a flick in no time with the Yahoo! Search movie showtime shortcut. http://tools.search.yahoo.com/shortcuts/#news

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ICANN publishes DNS Attack Factsheet
by A. Wanjira Munyua 09 Mar '07

09 Mar '07

ICANN's published a very good summary of the February 6 attack on the > root server system. > > <http://www.icann.org/announcements/announcement-08mar07.htm> > > "ICANN has today released a factsheet concerning the recent attack on > the root server system on 6 February 2007. The factsheet is intended > to provide an explanation of the attack for a non-technical audience > in the hope of enlarging public understanding surrounding this and > related issues. > > Aside from covering the attack itself and the engineers' response to > it, the factsheet also briefly reviews the root server system, the > domain name system, Anycast technology, and what can be done in order > to deal with such attacks in future. > > It is hoped that the factsheet will be the first in a series, with > ICANN's general manager of public participation, Kieren McCarthy, > acting as series editor. Future factsheets hope to follow a similar > approach of providing clear and topical non-technical information > about various aspects of the Internet in which ICANN is involved. > > We welcome whatever feedback the community may have, plus suggestions > for future factsheets. Please post any comments you have on the > related blog post. This factsheet is released under a Creative > Commons licence." > > Good to see creative commons license being used, help spread the word. > Blog post here <http://blog.icann.org/?p=37 > > Factsheet in PDF > <http://www.icann.org/announcements/factsheet-dns-attack-08mar07.pdf> > > > I imagine Kieren McCarthy would like to hear from people what he > should be covering next. And any comments on the factsheet itself. > > Adam > > _______________________________________________ > ALAC mailing list > ALAC(a)atlarge-lists.icann.org > http://atlarge-lists.icann.org/mailman/listinfo/alac_atlarge-lists.icann.org > > www.alac.icann.org > www.icannalac.org

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Microsoft�s Ballmer rekindles Linux patent fears
by Alex Gakuru 09 Mar '07

09 Mar '07

Sparks fly less than a month after Microsoft and Novell signed partnership By John Fontana, Network World, 11/21/06 For the second time in two years, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer last week played the patent infringement card against Linux and again set off a round of negative speculation and vendor clarifications..... As part of the deal between Microsoft and Novell, the pair is making payments to each other not to assert patent claims. Novell is paying $40 million to Microsoft in exchange for the latter company's pledge not to sue SUSE Linux users over possible patent violations, and Microsoft is paying Novell $108 million for a similar agreement that says Novell wont sue Microsoft users.... Experts have speculated the Microsoft-Novell deal was, in part, a swipe at Linux leader Red Hat and that Ballmers recent comments over intellectual property were in that vein. I guess that could be the rationale, but is Red Hat that much of threat to stoop to this level? said Ovum Summits Davis. http://www.linuxworld.com/news/2006/112106-ballmer-linux.html?page=1 ----- /end test message/ --------------------------------- Food fight? Enjoy some healthy debate in the Yahoo! Answers Food & Drink Q&A.

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attack on root server
by Rebecca Wanjiku 09 Mar '07

09 Mar '07

ICANN's summary of the February 6 attack on the > root server system. > > <http://www.icann.org/announcements/announcement-08mar07.htm> > > "ICANN has today released a factsheet concerning the recent attack on > the root server system on 6 February 2007. The factsheet is intended > to provide an explanation of the attack for a non-technical audience > in the hope of enlarging public understanding surrounding this and > related issues. > > Aside from covering the attack itself and the engineers' response to > it, the factsheet also briefly reviews the root server system, the > domain name system, Anycast technology, and what can be done in order > to deal with such attacks in future. > > It is hoped that the factsheet will be the first in a series, with > ICANN's general manager of public participation, Kieren McCarthy, > acting as series editor. Future factsheets hope to follow a similar > approach of providing clear and topical non-technical information > about various aspects of the Internet in which ICANN is involved. > > We welcome whatever feedback the community may have, plus suggestions > for future factsheets. Please post any comments you have on the > related blog post. This factsheet is released under a Creative > Commons licence." ____________________________________________________________________________________ Don't get soaked. Take a quick peek at the forecast with the Yahoo! Search weather shortcut. http://tools.search.yahoo.com/shortcuts/#loc_weather

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OFC final report
by Rebecca Wanjiku 09 Mar '07

09 Mar '07

here is the OFC final report. i have attached a copy and given the executive summary below, hope it will make good reading and background info.... Executive Summary The East African Coast remains the only seabed that is yet to be covered by International Submarine Optical Fiber Cable (OFC) Connectivity. With over three prospective Submarine Optical Cables in the offing, East Africans are standing at the threshold of new opportunities and are expecting better and more affordable communication services that OFCs have provided in other parts of the globe. But the question remains which model of OFC provisioning, will bring about meaningful and sustainable Socio-economic gains for the majority of citizens in East Africa and its environs? The Online Discussion explored this question by investigating the existing models for providing OFC and evaluating how each model would impact on the Key Stakeholders. The Key Stakeholders identified included the Regulator, the Consumers, the Government, the Development Financial Institutions (DFIs), the Private Operators and Investors. Efforts were made to understand each Stakeholders objectives with a view to ensuring that a model that can closely balanced out most of the conflicting interests could be arrived at. The generic models of Consortium, Open-Access and Privately provisioned OFC were discussed and their requirements and the impacts they (would) have on the various stakeholders were elicited. The role of the Regulator with regard to protecting Consumer interests in whichever of the above models were particularly emphasised and considered fundamental. The Open-Access principles were preferred irrespective of the OFC provisioning methods adopted especially with respect to allowing market-rate access both to existing and future Data Operators. With regard to ownership and financing of the OFC, it was felt that a mixture of Public, Private and DFIs sources of capital maybe the most efficient. In such a case, the owners would then constitute a body (Special Purpose Vehicle, SPV) to operate and maintain the OFC in the interest of the stakeholders. On the other hand, there was also the other alternative that placed less or no emphasis on the construction and ownership of the International OFC. Instead, it suggested that more emphasis should be placed towards developing a comprehensive and national (domestic) OFC. A comprehensive and active domestic infrastructure, coupled with local content would be expected attract Internet Backbone Providers (IBPs) wishing to tap into this new source of domestic traffic. Such Operators would therefore construct and extend their own OFC into the region at their own cost - as long as the local (domestic) Operators can guarantee to purchase an economic capacity of International bandwidth from the IBPs at market rates. Both the Online discussions as well as the Face-to-Face workshop provided a rich source of information that is hoped will provide valuable input in shaping the Policy and Regulatory direction regarding the provisioning of this critical submarine cable that would finally conquer the last frontier the East African Coast. Rebecca Wanjiku, journalist, p.o box 33515, Nairobi.00600 Kenya. Tel. 254 720 318 925 blog:http://beckyit.blogspot.com/ ____________________________________________________________________________________ Never miss an email again! Yahoo! Toolbar alerts you the instant new Mail arrives. http://tools.search.yahoo.com/toolbar/features/mail/

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[Fibre-for-africa] Invigorating debate on EASSy and other fibre
by A. Wanjira Munyua 09 Mar '07

09 Mar '07

Dear Listers, > > A short note here to draw your attention to some of the new resources that > have recently been uploaded on the Fibre for Africa website > (www.fibreforafrica.net) which provides information about international > bandwidth in Africa, its costs and the existence of monopoly access to it: > > 1) Question and Answer Interview with Dr Edmund Katiti, Policy and > regulatory Advisor for the NEPAD eAfrica Commission. He speaks about the > plans for forming the Special Purpose Vehicle to develop, own, operate, > and maintain the regional ICT broadband network for Eastern and Southern > Africa; moves toward engaging consultants to attract shareholders in the > network; and how the Commission views cables being planned by countries > such as Kenya and South Africa. > 2) Question and Answer Interview with Mr Edmond Nyakairu, chairman of the > finance committee of the EASSy Memorandum of Understanding signatories: On > the operators current feelings about the NEPAD eAfrica Commission; on the > Commissions continued use of the name EASSy; the impact which building > EASSy would have on proposed Kenyan and South African cables; on whether > EASSy makes commercial sense; and the way forward in delivering cheaper > and more accessible bandwidth to east and southern Africa. > 3) Article on the cables planned for the East Coast of Africa: This > resource lists the various initiatives to build cables that are parallel > to EASSy and questions whether this will not render EASSy less competitive > or even unviable. But how viable will these cables themselves be, and are > they planning on embracing Open Access principles? > 4) Paper on Enabling Open Access through Universal Access: This paper > makes the case for Open Access Infrastructure in addressing Africas > connectivity headaches; it examines flaws that are common in some of the > connectivity (including Universal Access) programmes on the continent; and > concludes that regional infrastructure undertakings like EASSy require > Universal Access to be correctly implemented and to address demand in > order for Open Access principles to prevail. > > EASSy appears to be at crossroads, with operators and the Commission > maintaining major disagreements. It is not clear when the champagne > bottles will be popped for its ground-breaking ceremony, or even who the > investors in it will be. The clock is ticking. Debate on what needs to be > done to secure a win-win situation not just for the NEPAD and the > telcos but importantly as well for the users who endure slow service at > exorbitant prices, needs to be sustained at this time. > > Wakabi > > > > ============== > Wairagala Wakabi > Research Associate > CIPESA > Plot 22 Bukoto Street, Kamwokya > P.O Box 26970 Kampala, Uganda > Tel. +256 41 531899 > Cell: +256 772 406 241 > Email: wakabi(a)cipesa.org > www.cipesa.org > > _______________________________________________ > Fibre-for-africa mailing list > Fibre-for-africa(a)lists.apc.org > http://lists.apc.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/fibre-for-africa

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My Evening in Jail (O.K, next to Jail)
by John Walubengo 08 Mar '07

08 Mar '07

O.K, before the moderator tells me to take this conversation off the list - I wish to promise that it will end with an IT twist... Yesterday evening, I was stopped by the Traffic Police at Madaraka Roundabout (next to Strath University). As a law abiding citizen, I stopped and without being asked, I opened the boot, stepped out and handed over my Driving Licence. After 5minutes (eternity for me!) I realised that the young police officer was struggling with his torch trying to shine the lamp on my annual renewal licences. I moved closer and he seemed happy to have discoverd and even happier to confirm that I had FORGED it (what???). He was alleging that it expired last year and since I was the clever-one, i simply extended the year by overwriting the original deadline and replacing it with next year (i.e from 2006 to 2008 expiry date) I tried to say indeed the overwriting was truly there, but it must have been done by the KRA (Kenya Revenue Officials, they are human and can make mistakes) but he was adamant that I must visit their Police station and be checked in. I tried to say that if I had committed a traffic offence , I would have expected that he would write me a ticket/summons? to appear in court sometime later in the week and stand accused awaiting defence/judgement/penalty..(lawyers could correct me on that). Later on he agreed that he will write the Summons from the Poice Station and so we drove to the nearest police station for this summons to be written. We reached there (Nyayo Stadium Police Station) and he asked me to sit right next to the Cells (which were full of some very mean looking 'Matheri' type of characters). After 5min, he came back to say that his Boss, the Officer in Charge of the Station is not in and so I have to be locked in until tomorrow morning, when he will come and write me the summons (hallooo??- next to THOSE guys?). To cut down the story, my wife new someone, who knew some Senior cop, whom she called and he eventually gave instructions to have me released - on Condition that I apologise for the offense (O.K. now what had I done again?). Here is the IT angle - isn't it time their website www.kenyapolice.go.ke gave the Citizens the correct position regarding Police Procedures for Civil/Criminal offence? I mean I never knew a traffic offence could earn you 1-night accomodation with General Ali's (the Police Commissioner) guests. Further more, when are those so called Tamper-proof Driving Licences going to hit the market? walu. nb: the overwriting was explained to me by KRA this morning - they say that it often happens and all they do is to double-stamp the affected license which they actually done- but I never knew the implication of that double-stamp. Am sure the young Police Officer had seen the double-stamping but was not in a hurry to educate me - he preferred to drag me to next to his cells for whatever (you are allowed to speculate) reasons. ____________________________________________________________________________________ Get your own web address. Have a HUGE year through Yahoo! Small Business. http://smallbusiness.yahoo.com/domains/?p=BESTDEAL

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Fw: [COMO Alliance] Media and Religion
by Florence Etta 08 Mar '07

08 Mar '07

Sorry for cross posting! The Communication and Media Research Institute has great pleasure in announcing the publication of the latest issue of our Open Access Journal Westminster Papers in Communication and Culture. Volume 4 Number 1 is dedicated to the them Media and Religion. You can access this issue and back numbers without charge at: http://www.wmin.ac.uk/mad/page-880. Alternatively, you can click on the links below for direct access to the articles. MEDIA AND RELIGION Anthony McNicholas Editorial Michael Bailey `He Who Has Ears to Hear, Let Him Hear: Christian Pedagogy and Religious Broadcasting During the Inter-War Period Diego Contreras Coverage of Complex Theoretical Content. The Case of Dominus Iesus Timothy J. White Catholicism and Nationalism in Ireland: From Fusion in the 19th Century to Separation in the 21st Century Dominica Dipio Religion in Nigerian Home Video Films Erica Baffelli Mass Media and Religion in Japan: Mediating the Leaders Image Book Reviews Maria Way Religion and Film: An Introduction Religion in a Changing Europe: Between Pluralism and Fundamentalism _______________________________________________ COMO_Alliance mailing list COMO_Alliance(a)lists.asc.upenn.edu http://lists.asc.upenn.edu/mailman/listinfo/como_alliance ___________________________________________________________ Now you can scan emails quickly with a reading pane. Get the new Yahoo! Mail. http://uk.docs.yahoo.com/nowyoucan.html

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AfriNIC Meeting: Abuja, Nigeria 23rd April-4 May 2007
by A. Wanjira Munyua 08 Mar '07

08 Mar '07

Dear Colleagues The next AfriNIC Meeting will be held in Abuja, Nigeria from 23rd April to 4 May 2007, together with AfNOG, INET Africa, AfTLD and AFREN meetings. It is an open forum to discuss issues related to internet number resource management within the AfriNIC service region. This meeting will also host a regional IPv6 conference where network operators will share their experiences on IPv6 deployment. We are looking for presentations and tutorials of relevance from anyone. Tutorials are usually 2 to 4 hour workshops, while presentations may last between 10 and 30 minutes. Presentations / Tutorials may cover the following topics: - IPv6 deployment - Routing Best Practice/Address Space Prefix Filtering - Reverse DNS implemenation - DNSec - Fighting Spam We would like to have as many practical, hands-on presentations as possible and they do not have to be long. Policy proposals are also usually discussed at the meeting, but must pass through the appropriate phases of the Policy Development Process (please see http://www.afrinic.net/pdp.htm) If you would like to make a presentation or tutorial, please send your proposal to meeting(a)afrinic.net Your proposal should contain the following information: - Full Name - Email Address - Affiliation - Short biography - Title of Talk - A detailed abstract or outline describing the presentation - Draft slides for the presentation (if ready/available) - Length of talk (minutes/hours/days) - Need (or not) for sponsorship or assistance to attend the meeting (travel and/or accommodation, etc) The audience at AfriNIC meetings is mainly composed of technical network operators and engineers with a wide range of experience levels from beginners to several years of experience. Presentations that contain any sort of marketing and commercial content are usually not encouraged at such meetings. Best Regards Hisham R. Rojoa Membership Liaison & Communications Officer AfriNIC

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