The Future of ccTLDs

Jia-Lu Cheng

Goldsmiths College,UOL

Cup01jlc@yahoo.com

2003/08/25

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Overview

• What is The Internet?

• Domain Name System

• ccTLDs

• DNS Governance

• ccNSO

• The Future of ccTLDs

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What is the Internet?

According to U.S. Federal Networking Council (FNC), "Internet" refers to the global information system that --

(i) is logically linked together by a globally unique address space based on the Internet Protocol (IP) or its subsequent extensions/follow-ons;

(ii) is able to support communications using the Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) suite or its subsequent extensions/follow-ons, and/or other IP-compatible protocols; and

(iii) provides, uses or makes accessible, either publicly or privately, high level services layered on the communications and related infrastructure described herein.

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Domain Name System

• Importance A set of distributed databases containing domain name

and their corresponding IP address. From purely technical point of view, domain name

system is not a crucial pivot in the development of Internet, and Internet still can work even without DNS. However, for some historical reasons, today, if domain name servers crashed suddenly, then most of communication via Internet will be impossible.

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Domain Name System• Importance (cont.) Robert Kahn has vividly drawn a parallel between

horseshoe and domain name system, he said that "right now, we're traveling on the horseback called the DNS system. That's the first thing out of the gate; it's what everybody uses, and it will be with us for quite a while."

Cited from the Hearing Record of Subcommittee on Basic Research, U.S. House of Representatives, which was held on March 23, 1998. Robert Kahn is president and CED of the Corporation for National Research Initiatives, U.S.

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Domain Name System

• Features: ■ Universal address system ■ Uniqueness of the name of Domain ■ Tree-like hierarchical system

• gTLD & ccTLD RFC 920 – Domain Requirement (Oct. 1984) Using the name of categories of different aggregat

ions of similar organizations and "free of undesirable semantics."

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Percentage of the world's domains in the top twenty-five counties

Source: Zook (2000) 'Internet Metrics: Using Host and Domain Name Counts to Map the Internet', Telecommunications Policy 24:613-20.

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ccTLDs

Comparing to other TLDs, ccTLD is not a result of deliberative consideration or discussion. On the contrast, they were an afterthought, According to Postel:

the country code TLDs were pretty much an afterthought to a different process of coming up with the original gen

eric TLDs. A comment was made that some people might want to have names specific to their own country, and it was pointed out that a convenient list of country codes existed (ISO 3166).

Cited from Mueller (1998:93), 'The Battle over Internet Domain Names: Global or National TLDs', Telecommunication Policy 22(2):89-107.

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ccTLDs

• Importance The importance of ccTLD is not because it is used i

n the Internet as the country code top-level domain identifier, but it decides which country or geographical territory can have its own TLD. In sort, it decides which territory can be appeared in cyberspace. According to The IANA's policy, a new ccTLD is able to be created only when it is listed on the ISO 3166-1 list.

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ccTLDs Number of ccTLDs Created Per Year

Years Africa AsiaPac Europe LatinAC NorthA Created Total

1985 0 1 1 0 1 3 3

1986 0 3 5 0 0 8 11

1987 0 2 5 1 1 9 20

1988 0 2 5 0 0 7 27

1989 0 2 2 4 0 8 35

1990 2 5 2 2 0 11 46

1991 3 1 0 17 1 22 68

1992 1 5 7 3 0 16 84

1993 8 3 9 2 1 23 107

1994 4 9 6 3 0 22 129

1995 10 10 6 4 0 30 159

1996 10 12 5 3 0 30 189

1997 20 18 1 6 2 47 236

1998 1 1 0 0 0 2 238

1999 1 2 0 0 0 3 241

2000 0 1 0 0 0 1 242

1.AQ-DOM (Antarctica top-level domain), established on 26/02/1992, is not included.

2.These figures are based on IANA ccTLDs Database, and are slightly differentfrom World Wide Alliance's

Number of ccTLDs

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ccTLDsNumber of Inactive ccTLDs

According to WIPO Ecommerce ccTLD Database, in 243 ccTLDs, 114 have made available a registration agreement (46.9%); 119 have a WHOIS service (48.9%); and 56 (23%) have adopted an ADR procedure. For 40 ccTLDs, no web site is indicated in the IANA database and for 9 ccTLDs the site is not accessible. In other words, 49 ccTLDs (20.1%) do not have a web presence.

M/Y 01/95' 01/96' 01/97' 01/98' 01/99' 01/00' 01/01' 01/02' 01/03'

Inactive 48 34 18 43 28 15 13 15 14 Soruce: Network Wizards, http://www.nw.com/

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ccTLDsThe Growth of Number and Percentage of Internet Host

gTLD* US only gTLD# ccTLD ARPANET Unknown Month/Year

No. % No. % No. % No. % No. % Total

01/1995 1622747 34 1518808 31 1710288 35 0 0 0 0 4851843

01/1996 3456435 36 2364612 25 3651177 39 0 0 0 0 9472224

01/1997 5829176 36 3696537 23 6620647 41 0 0 0 0 16146360

01/1998 14005613 47.2 5541799 18.7 10044861 33.9 56921 0.2 20417 0.1 29669611

01/1999 21742617 50.3 7184455 16.6 14157734 32.8 47974 0.1 96914 0.2 43229694

01/2000 42685540 59.0 8614753 11.9 20833468 28.8 117501 0.2 146830 0.2 72398092

01/2001 68514456 62.5 9785402 8.9 30960864 28.3 172370 0.2 141337 0.1 109574429

01/2002 93617371 63.5 10453971 7.1 42759123 29.0 281762 0.2 232496 0.2 147344723

01/2003 103654125 60.4 9947636 5.8 51412782 30.0 6387463 3.7 236291 0.1 171638297

*: Including dot-com, dot-net, dot-info, etc., but excluding dot-gov, dot-mil, dot-edu

#: Including dot-gov, dot-mil, dot-edu.

Source: Network Wizards, http://www.nw.com/

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The Growth rate of Internet Host

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

45

50

55

60

65

70

1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003

gTLD

TotalgTLD

ccTLD

US onlygTLD

ccTLDs

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DNS Governance• ccTLDs in Pre ICANN Era

Operated mostly by volunteer (often academic researchers, and delegated by Dr. Postel), and in a kind of anarchism.

• Guiding Principle• RFC 920 – Domain Requirement (Oct. 1984)

• RFC 1083 - IAB Official Protocol Standards (Dec. 1988 )

– Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA)

• RFC 1591 - Domain Name System Structure and Delegation (Mar. 1994)

• IANA CCTLD News Memo #1 (23 October 1997)

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DNS Governance

• Creation of ICANN• 30 January 1998, U.S. DoC's "A Proposal to Improve Te

chnical Management of Internet Names and Addresses - Discussion Draft" (Green Paper)

• 6 November 1998: ICANN Original Bylaw published.

• 1999 - ICANN begins to organize the many components specified in the White Paper

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DNS Governance• ccTLDs in ICANN Era

Toward to the way of institutionalization

• Policy• ICP-1: Internet Domain Name System Structure and Deleg

ation (May 1999)

• GAC's "Principles for Delegation and Administration of ccTLDs" (23 February 2000)

• Model MoUs and Agreements

– ICANN-ccTLD Manager Memorandum of Understanding —Legacy Situation (initial version, 2 Sep. 2001)

– ccTLD Sponsorship Agreement—Triangular Situation (initial version, 2 Sep.2001)

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DNS Governance• ccTLDs in ICANN Era (cont.)

• ccTLD Constituency• One of the initial constituencies of the DNSO

• Members of the ccTLD Constituency are those recorded managers of each ccTLD Registry

• Interim Donations (ICANN’s Task Force on Funding proposed to impose on ccTLDs an obligation to provide 35% of the ICANN budget)

• Officially withdrawing from the DNSO on 29 Oct. 2002

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DNS Governance• ICANN 2.0 Initiated by President's Report: ICANN - The Case for Reform (2

3 February 2002) WHY THE CURRENT COURSE WON'T WORK

• Lack of full participation by Critical Entities – ccTLDs, Root Name Server Operators, Address Registries, Major Users, I

SPs and Backbone Providers, National Governments

• Overburdened by process– At expense of effectiveness– Government-like layers of process

• Without government legitimacy, resources– Too many distractions

• Inadequate, unreliable, US-centric funding

• Not seen as credible by key stakeholders– Instead: A (loud) debating society

A NEW KIND OF PUBLIC/PRIVATE PARTNERSHIP

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DNS Governance• ICANN 2.0

• The Committee on ICANN Evolution and Reform (ERC) was established on on 14 March 2002

• ERC's Final Implementation Report and Recommendations was posted on 2 October 2002

• "New Bylaws" as a result of ERC was published on 15 December 2002

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ccNSO• 13 September 2002, ERC's "Third Status Report: Formation of

ccNSO Assistance Group. " (9 ccTLD managers, 2 GAC, 6 other communities )

• 22 April 2003, Fifth Supplemental Implementation Report (ERC Recommendations on ccNSO)

• 16 May 2003, GAC Opinion on the Committee on ICANN Evolution and Reform Recommendations on the Country-codes Names Supporting Organisation

• 18 June 200, ERC's "ccNSO Formation: Proposed Revisions to the Bylaws"

• 26 June 2003, ICANN Board adopted the amendments to the bylaws

• 9 July 2003, ccNSO Launching Group - Call for Expressions of Interest

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ccNSO

• Core Responsibilities • Developing and recommending to the Board gl

obal policies relating to country-code top-level domains;

• Nurturing consensus across the ccNSO's community, including the name-related activities of ccTLDs; and

• Coordinating with other ICANN Supporting Organizations, committees, and constituencies under ICANN .

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ccNSO• MEMBERSHIP

Any ccTLD manager that meets the membership qualifications shall be entitled to be members of the ccNSO.

Membership qualifications: recognizing the role of the ccNSO within the ICANN structure, and agreeing, for the duration of its membership in the ccNSO, (a) to adhere to rules of the ccNSO, including membership rules, (b) to adhere to ICANN bylaws as they apply to ccTLDs, and (c) to pay ccNSO membership fees.

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ccNSO• Council

• Role:a.Administering and coordinating the affairs of ccNSO

b.Managing the development of policy recommendations

• Consist of:a.Three Council members selected by the ccNSO members within

each ICANN’s Geographic Regions (Europe; Asia/Australia/Pacific; Latin America/Caribbean islands; Africa; and North America )

b.Three Council members selected the ICANN Nominating Committee

c.Liaisons – GAC (Martin Boyle, UK), ALAC, each of the Regional Orgnizations

d.Observer - several from other SO

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The Future of ccTLDs

All of stories are just on

the road.