Background on ISOC's Bid
On
June 18, 2002, the Internet Society (ISOC) submitted an application to
the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) to be
assigned as the new registry operator for the .ORG top-level domain (TLD).
This application was submitted in response to ICANN's requests for proposals for new registry operators. ICANN is currently seeking a new registry operator to assume control of the .ORG registry when its current agreement with VeriSign expires on December 31, 2002.
Should ISOC's application be accepted by ICANN, ISOC proposes to form a new corporation, to be called Public Interest Registry, Inc. (PIR). ISOC has also entered into a Letter of Intent with Afilias Limited to provide back-end registry services.
The strength of ISOC's bid rest on four key cornerstones:
Responsiveness to the Noncommercial Community
- If awarded the bid, the Public Interest Registry (PIR) is envisioned to serve as a benchmark for registry services that are operated in the interest of the public and that are responsive to the needs of the noncommercial community.
- PIR will have the benefit of ISOC's established expertise and history that will enable it to manage both policy and strategy for the domain and will be able to create and perform services that are in line with the interests of the public.
- ISOC has earned the respect of the Internet and noncommercial communities and has a global constituency that provides deep understanding of the policy and management issues facing TLDs, as well as keen insight into proposed enhancements to .ORG.
- ISOC has proposed a global marketing and public relations program that PIR can execute to address the growing need within the noncommercial community for education about the Internet and its benefits.
- ISOC has already received many letters of support from various members of the noncommercial community worldwide who believe that PIR will be a registry that truly represents the needs of the noncommercial community and can make .ORG the true global home of noncommercial entities on the Internet.
Superior Technology
- ISOC's back-end provider, Afilias, is the registry operator for .INFO, the most successful of the seven new generic top-level domain (gTLDs), and the .VC country code top-level domain (ccTLD).
- Afilias manages more than 850,000 names in .INFO using the new EPP (Extensible Provisioning Protocol) standard for registry operations-and has spearheaded the use of EPP, including the first implementation of EPP's transfer capability.
- Through its current architecture and DNS partners, Afilias is able to ensure resolution of Web sites in less than 15 minutes, on average.
- Afilias currently supports more than 90 ICANN-accredited registrars. Together these registrars already handle 99% of .ORG's current registrations.
- Afilias has prepared an EPP transition plan based on experience both with its registrars and a similar conversion being managed in Australia for parts of the .AU domain in Australia.
Stable & Reliable International Infrastructure
- ISOC is the foremost nonprofit organization focused exclusively on Internet issues - and has been for more than ten years.
- ISOC, as a professional membership society with more than 150 organizational and 10,000 individual members in over 120 countries, has a true global platform from which to pool insight and resources to ensure that the .ORG registry can respond to the needs of the international noncommercial community.
- ISOC, through its role as the organizational home of the Internet Engineering Task Force (www.IETF.org), Internet Architecture Board (www.IAB.org) and other related organizations has consistently supported the development standards and policies that seek to maintain a stable Internet infrastructure.
- Afilias brings technology to .ORG that will speed resolution times, increase reliability, enhance security, protect information, and provide stability. Afilias' systems and technology base are standards-compliant, flexible, fault-tolerant, and proven under challenging operational conditions. It has partnered with world class suppliers such as UltraDNS and IBM, to deliver fast, reliable service.
Industry Knowledge & Experience
- The Internet standards process (IETF) is an activity of the Internet Society that is organized and managed on behalf of the Internet community by the IAB and the Internet Engineering Steering Group (www.IESG.org). This is the foundation of every modern network or Internet product and service.
- As a back-end registry services provider, Afilias brings tremendous experience as its flagship domain - .INFO - remains the most successful and longest running new gTLD with over 850,000 names under management.
- Afilias is a tested and proven registry services company that is a pioneer in the development of next-generation registry technology and the implementation of EPP.
If you have additional questions, we'd like to hear from you. Please write to us at orginfo@isoc.org
