Testimony of J. Beckwith Burr
Associate Administrator (Acting)
National Telecommunications and Information Administration
 
Before the House Committee on Science
Subcommittee on Basic Research
and
Subcommittee on Technology
 
October 7, 1998

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. It is a pleasure to appear this afternoon to discuss progress on the privatization of Internet domain name and address management functions.
 

On June 5, 1998, the Department of Commerce released The Management of Internet Names and Addresses (the White Paper), which describes the process by which the Administration would transition responsibility for certain domain name management functions now performed by or on behalf of the United States to a new, not-for-profit corporation established by the private sector. The White Paper laid out five important near-term tasks. This afternoon I would like to give the Committee a status report on those tasks.
 

First, the White Paper indicated that we would ramp down the Cooperative Agreement with Network Solutions, Inc. (NSI) with the objective of introducing competition into the domain name space. Our objectives, as laid out in the White Paper, included NSI's agreement to:
 

I'm pleased to report that yesterday, October 6, the Department of Commerce and NSI executed an agreement that accomplishes these objectives. The agreement extends the Cooperative Agreement through the transition period, but provides for the termination of obligations to the government under that agreement as we transition DNS responsibilities to the new corporation. In the agreement, NSI has committed to a timetable for development of a Shared Registration System that will permit multiple registrars to provide registration services within the gTLDs for which NSI now acts as a registry. NSI has also agreed to provide software, data and documentation generated under the Cooperative Agreement to the United States Government on an accelerated schedule. Importantly, NSI has committed to recognize the role of the new corporation and to assist it by providing technical assistance and intellectual property necessary for the new corporation to carry out the functions described in the White Paper. Finally, NSI has agreed to a number of provisions related to pricing and equal access designed to ensure that a competitive marketplace can develop in DNS registration. A copy of this agreement has been attached for the record.
 

Our second task under the White Paper, is to enter into an agreement with the new corporation to undertake a transition process leading, ultimately, to the new corporation's assumption of responsibility for management of the DNS. In order to do so, of course, a new corporation needed to emerge from the private sector. As you will hear more about, over the summer, a diverse group of Internet stakeholders have been participating in international discussions to form such a corporation. Last week the Department of Commerce received a proposal, including a proposed interim board, from a newly incorporated California corporation named the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN). We also received two other proposals. One proposal, submitted by the Boston Working Group, outlines a set of suggested modifications to the ICANN proposal, and the other proposal, from Ronda Hauben, suggests principles for the creation of an international cooperative of researchers to manage DNS functions. NTIA has posted the proposals submitted and established an e-mail address for public comment. Based on our review of the proposals and a review of the public comments received, the Department of Commerce intends, in the next several weeks, to negotiate an agreement with a new DNS management corporation.
 

Third, as described in the White Paper, the United States asked the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) to convene an international process to: 1) develop a set of recommendations for an approach to resolving trademark/domain name disputes involving cyberpiracy, 2) develop recommendations for the protection of famous trademarks in the generic top level domains, and 3) to evaluate the effects of adding new top level domains and related dispute resolution procedures on domain name and trademark holders. Under the leadership of Dr. Francis Gurry, WIPO has convened an experts committee from around the world and has undertaken a series of international consultations on the subject. WIPO is scheduled to finalize its report and present its recommendations to the new corporation in March, 1999.
 

Fourth, the United States has continued to consult with the international community, including other interested governments, on the evolution and privatization of the domain name system. We will continue to consult internationally as we make decisions on the transition of domain name system management functions to the new corporation.
 

Fifth and finally, a high level group has been convened in the Executive Branch to begin a review of Internet root server system security and management.
 

This represents tremendous progress since the White Paper was issued in June. We are steadily moving towards making the policies described in the White Paper a reality. The Department of Commerce has relied on an open and participatory process to develop policy set forth in the White Paper, providing the global public an opportunity to help shape and comment on the issues before us. The White Paper issued a challenge to the global private sector to create a new corporation to undertake management Internet DNS functions, and the Department of Commerce has posted those proposals, the results of that challenge, for open, public consideration and comment. I would like to thank all of the members of the global Internet community for the extraordinary effort they have invested in this process in recent months. In particular, Professor Tamar Frankel deserves special mention as a key coordinator for the International Forum on the White Paper.
 

Finally, I would like to close by thanking this Committee and its staff for its consistently thoughtful and constructive participation in the development and implementation of the plan to transition DNS management to the private sector.
 

I would be happy to answer any questions that members of the Committee might have at this time.