In a move that shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone, the EU Commission has given a rather mixed welcome to the IANA bid. While they obviously like a lot of what they are seeing, they're also not overly impressed with the contract only being open to US companies. Here's the full text of their press release: Digital Agenda: Commission welcomes improvements in new IANA … [Read more...] about European Commission Likes New IANA Contract – Doesn’t Like US Only Bidding Process
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New TLD Event In Switzerland
Switch, the .ch registry, and several other organisations are organising an event in Berne, Switzerland on new TLDs. The event site includes basic information about the day, but is lacking information on speakers .. Registration is free Related articles New TLD Event To Be Held In Bulgaria (internetnews.me) 4th International conference for ccTLD registries … [Read more...] about New TLD Event In Switzerland
DomainForum in Sofia Focuses On NewTLDs
DomainForum is being held today in Sofia, Bulgaria with a firm focus on newTLDs. The event was opened by one of the Bulgarian ministers who spoke about Bulgaria's open policy towards the internet. ICANN CEO Rod Beckstrom was the opening speaker and the rest of the day's speakers is varied (disclosure - I'm one of them) The full schedule may be found … [Read more...] about DomainForum in Sofia Focuses On NewTLDs
ICANN 43 Costa Rica Regisrations Open
With ICANN 42 Dakar closing yesterday registrations have now opened for the next public ICANN meeting in Costa Rica. The meeting is being held in March, which is in the middle of the new TLD application window. … [Read more...] about ICANN 43 Costa Rica Regisrations Open
ICANN 42 Kicks Off This Weekend
The 42nd public ICANN meeting officially opens next Monday, but, as usual, a cursory glance at the event schedule shows a different story. GNSO, At-Large, GAC and other stakeholders will be meeting from 9am (local time) on Saturday onwards. What's on the menu for this meeting? With the launch date for newTLDs announced don't expect any "huge" announcements, though … [Read more...] about ICANN 42 Kicks Off This Weekend
ICANN Hits New Low In Staff Retention
Quite a few people have voiced concerns over the last year or so with respect to ICANN's staff retention. Any time the issue is raised during an ICANN meeting, however, the CEO and board have refused to entertain any discussion of the subject and cite "industry" statistics. So how are they going to explain this one? ICANN Europe was meant to be getting a new head honcho … [Read more...] about ICANN Hits New Low In Staff Retention
So Who Exactly Is Bob Recstrum?
If you're an ICANN "insider" and use Twitter then you've probably come across the user account @BobRecstrum, which is an obvious parody of Rod Beckstrom. The account has been active for the last few months (since March 26th 2011 according to the Twitter timeline and this site) I've spoken to several people who might know who is behind it, but nobody is willing to admit … [Read more...] about So Who Exactly Is Bob Recstrum?
So What’s Happening With ICANN’s Palo Alto Office?
Following on from the announcement last night that ICANN chief Rod Beckstrom would be stepping down next year there has been a lot of chatter going on via email, twitter, facebook and other media. One question that has been raised by a few people was very practical. What is going to happen to the Palo Alto offices? ICANN observers may recall that one of the terms … [Read more...] about So What’s Happening With ICANN’s Palo Alto Office?
ICANN Community Reactions To Beckstrom Resignation
News of Rod Beckstrom's departure spread across the ICANN and wider internet community last night and has been getting quite a bit of mileage on various industry and personal blogs and sites. Here are a few that I came across: Kieren McCarthy suggests (strongly) that ICANN fired Beckstrom Nigel Roberts has a few choice words on the subject. As Nigel is from the ccTLD … [Read more...] about ICANN Community Reactions To Beckstrom Resignation
ICANN Official Release On Beckstrom Departure
ICANN has issued an official release regarding Rod Beckstrom's announced departure. I wasn't expecting the release to have any "meat", but I think they've outdone themselves this time. It's not just slightly fluffy, it's practically redefined my understanding of fluff. There's no indication as to why Beckstrom is standing down, so speculation will be rife (it already … [Read more...] about ICANN Official Release On Beckstrom Departure