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[Fwd: [Fibre-for-africa] Kenya's fibre optic cable project queried]
by alice 12 Mar '07

12 Mar '07

-------- Original Message -------- Subject: [Fibre-for-africa] Kenya's fibre optic cable project queried Date: Mon, 12 Mar 2007 08:32:18 +0300 From: Wairagala Wakabi <wakabi(a)cipesa.org> Reply-To: APC - Private list for use by EASSY Workshop Participants <fibre-for-africa(a)lists.apc.org> To: APC - Private list for use by EASSY Workshop Participants <fibre-for-africa(a)lists.apc.org> References: <mailman.0.1172828896.9025.fibre-for-africa(a)lists.apc.org> <45EBFF90.7090301(a)cipesa.org> <45EC0CF1.1050706(a)cipesa.org> So Kenya is pushing full throttle with its vision of building a cable to link the country to international fibre. The East African Marine System (TEAMS), promoted by government and expected to draw private financing as well, has been touted as the country’s answer to EASSy’s delays in getting off the ground – and in satisfying Kenya’s misgivings about the EASSy protocol, the role NEPAD has been playing in the initiative and – some say – South Africa’s attempt to dominate the show. But in the rush to get TEAMS off the ground, did the country ignore best practice in procurement? That is the question an article in today’s The EastAfrican newspaper asks. That is the question the country’s Attorney General’s Chambers has been asking. Their queries refer to the manner in which Tyco International Ltd. Was handed the $2.7 m deal to do prelim work on the deal “without competitive bidding”. One could join the AG’s office in asking questions: Will TEAMS go ahead with this plan anyway, now that some of the entities being expected to fund the construction of TEAMS have moved a step further with EASSy. Here we are referring to the likes of Telekom Kenya. And if EASSy goes ahead, then Flag Telcom/ Reliance Telecom actualise their advanced plan to build their cable (of which Kenya Data Network is a keenly involved party, just as it is in EASSy) how viable will these cables be? For more on cables planned on East coast of Africa, please see www.fibreforafrica.net . Wakabi -- Fresh snarl-ups in Kenya-Fujaira fibre optic cable project STAFF WRITER, The EastaAfrican, March 12, 2007 Controversy is simmering between the Office of the Attorney General and the Ministry of Information and Communications over the procurement for a multimillion-dollar plan by Kenya to build a fibre-optic cable link from Mombasa to Fujaira in the United Arab Emirates. Known as The East African Marine System (TEAMS), the project is expected to be launched in parallel with the $200 million East African Submarine Cable System (EASSy) — a fibre-optic cable link along the eastern seaboard of Africa, from South Africa to Sudan via a number of landing points including Mombasa. The EastAfrican has learnt that the Office of the Attorney General has raised queries over the manner in which Tyco International Ltd — a transnational that operates in 100 countries — was in January this year awarded a $2.7 million contract by the Information Ministry to conduct a marine survey without competitive bidding. The ministry had in January sought and was granted an exemption from the Directorate of Public Procurement to procure the contract for a marine survey through single-sourcing. However, the Office of the Attorney General has — in a letter signed by Solicitor-General Wanjuki Muchemi — argued that the application to the directorate was not done according to procedure and demanded minutes of the ministry’s technical evaluation committee that decided that the project be single-sourced. Apparently, the ministry had sought the exemption on the grounds of the onset of the monsoon season in the Indian Ocean and the consequent need to fast-track the project. It is understood that, during an earlier meeting in Dubai between Kenya government officials and the Dubai-based Etisalat Ltd — the main private sector sponsors of the project — the point was made to the officials that the marine survey contract and the cable construction contract could not be awarded to separate companies. The government had been warned that it was rare for a cable contractor to accept a marine survey conducted by another firm. Experts had also told the government officials that marine surveys are usually deemed to be part and parcel of construction works and that awarding the survey component separately would amount to giving the construction contract to the same firm. The Office of the Attorney General wants to know why the issues raised by experts had been ignored. TEAMS is one of the largest projects being undertaken by the government this year. The government decided to launch the project when it realised that the EASSy project was facing too many delays. The government is set to invite bids any time from now for a financial arranger who will design a plan to raise money for the project, tentatively expected to be completed by early next year. The contract will be awarded competitively by April this year. The government — through Telkom Kenya — is working with Dubai-based Etilasat to build the cable. The private sector will be invited to either buy shares in the project or will be brought in on the basis of proved capacity to raise funds through models worked out by the financial arranger. The information and communications technology sector in Kenya has for years been held back by reliance on expensive satellite connectivity to the international network. Interest in construction of fibre-optic cable links to the Kenya Coast has risen dramatically and Kenya appears set to acquire cheaper international connectivity in less than two years. First is the planned $200 million EASSy, which is beginning to pick up momentum after a prolonged three-year gestation period. Currently, the proposal is for an open-access operation modelled to allow new entrants to use the infrastructure without paying high entry charges. This is expected to result in low costs for connectivity and exponential growth in transmission. According to the financing plan, up to 85 per cent ($170 million) of the funding is to come from development finance institutions, including the International Finance Corporation. The EASSy Construction and Maintenance Agreement — an important project implementation landmark — was signed in Nairobi last month by 24 licensee parties of the EASSy consortium from 17 countries. It is the trigger that now makes the project fully funded and committed from an equity point of view. Reliance Group of India has also joined the fray. The giant company has announced plans for a third cable option along the East African coast that will link South Africa and Kenya and also serve Tanzania, Mauritius, Mozambique and Madagascar as well as some landlocked countries. The cable link will be laid down by Flag Telecom, a subsidiary of Reliance. Seith East Africa Ltd of the United States is also understood to have approached the government of Kenya to allow it to build a control centre around the Athi River area to serve a new cable link it is planning to build joining ports on the East African coast to the Arab world. The company is part of the Blackstone Group, one of the largest private equity companies in the world. ============== 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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monthly forum, march 22
by Rebecca Wanjiku 12 Mar '07

12 Mar '07

Kictanet invites you to the monthly forum next thursday March 22nd. the theme will be Access and Connectivity; bridging the rural urban divide, there will be presesntations from Tespok and Alex Gakuru, a consumer representative. the meeting starts at 3pm at the Jacaranda. you are welcome to ask any further questions regarding access and connectivity, the forum is what was previously reffered to as monthly meetings, it was felt that the meeting should be a place where members can discuss issues and present them to policy makers. e.g when presenting to the PS, one can say, these were deliberations and recommendations from the Kictanet monthly forum ........ please plan to attend, regards becky ____________________________________________________________________________________ We won't tell. Get more on shows you hate to love (and love to hate): Yahoo! TV's Guilty Pleasures list. http://tv.yahoo.com/collections/265

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AFRICAN SNOs – LAST YEAR’S MODEL STRUGGLES AT THE START GATE
by alice 12 Mar '07

12 Mar '07

FROM BALANCING ACT: AFRICAN SNOs – LAST YEAR’S MODEL STRUGGLES AT THE START GATE Africa’s Second National Operator licence processes run the danger of becoming the beached whale of regulatory liberalisation. The latter usually runs through the following stages: single monopoly operator, same plus mobile operators, and then reaches for a wider and more complex competitive ecology. The SNO is the cautious regulator’s option for introducing competition. In the early stages of liberalisation it allows the vertically-integrated monopoly of the incumbent to be converted into a duopoly operated by two vertically-integrated companies. So Senegal’s announcement in 2001 that it would introduce an SNO to compete with incumbent Sonatel perhaps fitted the pattern. But here we are six years later and there is still no SNO announcement from the Government and political timetabling (the recent President elections and the latter assembly elections) dictate that there will probably be no announcement until the Autumn. Sonatel has continued to entrench its de-facto monopoly and controls 80-90% of any market worth having. In any other country this degree of monopoly would be the subject of a legal anti-competition challenge. Malawi’s SNO bidding process (started in April 2006) appears to be going into a similar holding pattern. A local report leaking the conclusions of the evaluation process for the SNO bidders seems to show that MACRA will not proceed with appointing an SNO if it follows the evaluation report. There were three bidders: Access Communications, African Communications Ltd; and AirTel Communications. Terracom (the bidding vehicle of former Telecel owner Rwanda Miko Rwayitare) asked for a licence to do data and VoIP services. The three formal applications are all Malawian. However regulator MACRA’s Acting Director-General Mike Kuntiya says that a successful bidder will be known when the Government has made a final decision. Kuntiya maintains that all its evaluation report has done is make recommendations and the final decision must be made by Government. Speed is not a characteristic of the SNO process as it is unlikely that a decision will be made before April, several deadlines having already come and gone. Based on a number of different criteria including ownership and control, the technical and business plans, experience and credibility, the evaluation’s author ranked the three companies as follows: Airtel (86.83 points), Access Communications (73.57), Aircomms (69.5) and Terracom (14.52). The Government’s Information Minister said it was considering the company that scored the highest markets as it only had weaknesses in certain areas and MTL needed competition. The wheels have also come off Kenya’s SNO process when the selected winner Vtel Consortium failed to make the first licence payment. After Vtel failed to make its first payment, Reliance was give a week to raise its similar first payment otherwise the process would be cancelled. No news has emerged since that point. The curse of the SNO Licence procedure? We shall see.

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IT DON’T MEAN A THING IF IT AIN’T GOT THAT FRING – VOIP NIGHTMARE FOR MOBILE OPERATORS
by alice 12 Mar '07

12 Mar '07

TOP STORY FROM BALANCING ACT: IT DON’T MEAN A THING IF IT AIN’T GOT THAT FRING – VOIP NIGHTMARE FOR MOBILE OPERATORS _____________________________________________________________________ An early adopting reader alerted us last week to the existence of Fring. Is it a bird? Is it a plane? No, it’s free Skype-style client specifically designed for mobile phones. This South African reader had been making use of it to phone friends and business contacts. If the Fring thing catches on – particularly in those African countries with reasonable broadband capacity – then it looks set to put a hole in the revenues of the mobile operators. It does both voice and SMS for the cost of the data use from the mobile provider that is much cheaper than current voice rates. Russell Southwood looks at the coming VoIP challenge for Africa’s new incumbents. Fring (http://www.fring.com] is an Israeli start-up that has developed a software that enables your mobile phone to call your friends at no cost using your UMTS or GPRS or WiFi data connection. The software can also use your Skype account to make calls to your Skype contacts or call landline or other mobile phones using SkypeOut. You can also chat using either MSN Messenger or Google Talk. The software is only available for Nokia phones at present but will doubtless migrate to other handsets before too long. The existence of mobile VoIP clients like Fring pose a significant challenge to mobile operators. It is already possible to use an IP client like Skype to make mobile calls over existing data-enabled networks. Depending on the data capacity enabled, quality will vary from the not very good to the perfectly adequate. African mobile operators are vulnerable on network quality issues in many countries (particularly on international calling) and therefore VoIP-enabled mobile calling will be attractive. As mobile operators now carry most voice traffic and often operate with low levels of competition, it is not unfair to describe them as having all the characteristics of the new incumbents. And faced with the VoIP threat, a number of operators have reverted to the incumbent’s chosen behaviour: try to close down anything new that threatens revenue. MTN has already announced in South Africa that it has banned Skype and that anyone it catches using it will be charged at its voice rates. This position has neither logic nor past experience behind it. European operators like T-Mobile announced publicly that it was banning Skype on its network but in late 2006 it said it was reversing the ban and would reach an agreement with Skype. The latter has already announced deals with Hutchinson in several markets and said it was making available a Pocket PC client that would enable wider user of its services. An example of the Hutchinson deals is 3G mobile operator 3 in the UK. Its pitch gives a clear idea of the shift in thinking required to offer a mobile VoIP service:”Why should you pay per minute, per message, per click, per megabit? In the real world, you buy your PC, pay for broadband and that’s it. Our principle is simple – X-Series customers will only pay a flat access fee on top of their basic subscription and then what’s free to use on the internet should be free to use on mobile broadband (subject to fair usage and international roaming conditions, of course)”. The other challenge will be Wi-Fi-enabled handsets. By October 2006 10% of hot-spot operator The Cloud’s traffic by kbps was coming from voice. It has achieved this by securing alliances with both traditional players and news entrants including: Net2Phone, Vonage and Skype. Its Ultra Wi-Fi offer allows unlimited use in the UK for US$23.36 a month and it has 7,500 hot-spots across Europe. But as it grows it is also doing business with existing mobile operators. In 2006 it signed an agreement to partner with Vodafone’s German operator D2 to provide WLANs. So what will African mobile operators do as they come to terms with a mobile VoIP future? At present, they have yet to commit but most do not yet appear to have come to grips with the implications of this challenge. ____________________________________________________________________

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[Fwd: [Fibre-for-africa] Operators ignore NEPAD, sign EASSy construction deal]
by alice 12 Mar '07

12 Mar '07

-------- Original Message -------- Subject: [Fibre-for-africa] Operators ignore NEPAD, sign EASSy construction deal Date: Mon, 12 Mar 2007 08:28:01 +0300 From: Wairagala Wakabi <wakabi(a)cipesa.org> Reply-To: APC - Private list for use by EASSY Workshop Participants <fibre-for-africa(a)lists.apc.org> To: APC - Private list for use by EASSY Workshop Participants <fibre-for-africa(a)lists.apc.org> References: <mailman.0.1172828896.9025.fibre-for-africa(a)lists.apc.org> <45EBFF90.7090301(a)cipesa.org> <45EC0CF1.1050706(a)cipesa.org> Major development on EASSy, listers. The companies that are signatories to the EASSy memorandum of understanding (MOU) have signed a deal with Alcatel-Lucent for construction of the cable. NEPAD has apparently been ignored in the exercise. A release from the group says 22 regional entities and a few international ones are party to the undertaking (just over a week ago they told Fibre-for Africa it was over 29 entities) so it is not clear who is and who is out. Cost of construction was at the weekend pegged at US$240 m by the MoU parties, down from the $300 m NEPAD has been mentioning. This latest development raises questions of whether NEPAD will go ahead with its NBIN, of which EASSy is the principal component, or will engage the MoU signatories with a view to reconciling and placing ‘their’ EASSy under the auspices of the NEPAD eAfrica Commission. And, will the EASSy holding company be headquartered in Rwanda (as a meeting called by NEPAD last June decided) or will it stay in Kenya, where it has been coordinated since inception in 2002? Worth of note is that at the weekend, Mr John Shira who has helped coordinate the project for quite a while, but whose voice had become fainter since NEPAD attempted to take the driver’s seat, was among those speaking on behalf of the MoU parties at the weekend. And then, how will the signing of the cable affect other in-the-pipeline plans to build alternative cables along Africa’s east coast? Telkom Kenya officials were among those who spoke, in a press release Alcatel-Lucent issued: "This project represents a milestone in the development of the African communication infrastructure, where there is a strong need for optical connectivity" Sammy Kirui, Chairman of the EASSy Project Management Committee and Managing Director of Telkom Kenya. "Alcatel-Lucent is recognized as one of the key turnkey suppliers in the submarine cable market and was selected through a competitive tendering process". See: http://www.companynewsgroup.com/communique.asp?co_id=116613 The NEPAD eAfrica Commission is planning a meeting in “April/May” to flesh out the issue of shareholders – yet here they are now already acting as a unit, even engaging contractors… Telkom SA said in a statement that the project would open new opportunities for it in Africa, an indication that the telcos are firmly behind the deal with Alcatel-Lucent. 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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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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