[1]Score big with your contacts. Click here for ACT!3.0 U.S. government stepping in to sort out Net domain names WASHINGTON - Concerns about the future of how Internet domain names will be managed got an airing during a two-day forum last week. But how those concerns may get addressed remains unresolved. The domain name issue has drawn a lot of attention lately. The company that has a virtual monopoly on popular names, Network Solutions Inc. (NSI), has been notified that it will not have its contract renewed in April 1998. Many say that will bring much needed competition. Recently, the Clinton administration has gotten involved in the issue on various levels. The Justice Department is investigating NSI's role as a primary domain name registrar. Beyond that, the Departments of Commerce and State are looking into a plan, issued three months ago by the Internet International Ad Hoc Committee (IAHC), that would increase the amount of domain names (designations such as .com and .org) used on the Internet. The plan also expands the worldwide management of those names so that up to 28 new registrars may be added. The administration's involvement came after many businesses complained about the proposed plan's lack of protection for trademark and intellectual property rights. A two-day forum to address such concerns was held here Wednesday and Thursday. Sponsored by the Information Technology Association of America and other Internet groups, it was attended by representatives of the Clinton administration, businesses and advocates. "We have to keep the Internet community talking," says ITAA president Harris Miller. Domain names are essentially addresses for the Internet. Companies, agencies or groups apply for an individual address within such domains as .com, .gov, or .org. As use of the Internet has grown, companies have put increasing importance on obtaining and protecting domain names related to their companies. When entities apply to NSI, it charges $100 to register new addresses for two years and $50 annually to renew them. NSI then finds an Internet number, just like a telephone number, to correspond with the domain address. Many have complained about NSI's inability to quickly provide domain registrations. In its proposed stock offering, NSI says it is cooperating with the Justice Department inquiry. And at the forum, NSI CEO Gabe Battista said that sharing management of .com, .net and .org domains was "on the table." The U.S. government has nurtured the Internet to its present strapping status from its birth in 1969 as the Defense Department's Advanced Research Projects Agency network. "We're very anxious to support its transition to full-fledged adulthood," says Commerce Department spokesperson Becky Burr. "But we don't just let our children grow up and do whatever they want." The Internet community usually seeks to avoid government intervention, but so far, U.S. government's actions have been met with approval. Among complaints about the international plan is that it did not have adequate participation by Internet service providers or groups representing individual citizens, plus it gives too much power to the Geneva-based International Telecommunication Union. "Our customers are not well-served by (the plan's) rapid resolution," says William Schrader, president of PSINet, a large commercial Internet service provider. "The government has held back on purpose. But there is a time governments can assist, and this is one of those times." The State Department has asked for more information on the Geneva agency's role in the management of proposed new domains, among them .firm, .rec and .web. The Commerce Department takes public comments until Aug. 18. The Ad-Hoc Committee continues its plan and is taking registrar applications. But, says committee member Dave Crocker, an Internet e-mail pioneer, "We'll all keep talking." By Mike Snider, USA TODAY _________________________________________________________________ * [2]Go to High-tech index * [3]Go to Life Front * [4]Go to Lifeline * [5]Go to Money Front * [6]Go to Moneyline * [7]Go to News Front * [8]Go to Nationline _________________________________________________________________ * [9]Go to Web Traveler [10][ISMAP] 08/04/97 - 09:58 AM ET - Click reload often for latest version References 1. http://www.usatoday.com/cgi-bin/redir?SpaceID=104&AdID=913&URL=http://www.symantec.com/promos/act06.html 2. http://www.usatoday.com/life/cyber/tech/ct000.htm 3. http://www.usatoday.com/life/lfront.htm 4. http://www.usatoday.com/life/digest/ld1.htm 5. http://www.usatoday.com/money/mfront.htm 6. http://www.usatoday.com/money/digest/md1.htm 7. http://www.usatoday.com/news/nfront.htm 8. http://www.usatoday.com/news/digest/nd1.htm 9. http://www.usatoday.com/life/cyber/cyber1.htm 10. http://www.usatoday.com/maps/botrib.map